spermatozoid

[spur-muh-tuh-zoh-id, spur-mat-uh-]

noun

Botany, Mycology.

1. a motile male gamete produced in an antheridium.

spermatozoid

/ ˌspɜːmətəʊˈzəʊɪd /

noun

1. botany another name for antherozoid

spermatozoid

1. A male reproductive cell produced in an antheridium, as in algae, fungi, and nonflowering plants. Each spermatozoid has cilia that propel it toward the archegonium.

2. Also called antherozoid

Word History and Origins

Origin of spermatozoid¹

First recorded in 1855–60; spermatozo(on) + -id ¹

Example Sentences

The male reproductive apparatus in the lower, consisting of a cell or other cavity in which spermatozoids are produced; Ð called also spermary.

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The spermatozoids constitute the most striking link with both cycads and ferns.

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The Crustacea are—with the exception of the Cirrhipedia—remarkable for having stiff, motionless spermatozoids.

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Afterwards the contents of these latter cells become divided into numerous bacillary spermatozoids, which first break the wall of their mother cell, and then issue from the antheridium.

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At this moment it produces on the surface of the egg a coagulation, which prevents the entrance of a second spermatozoid.

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