volvox

[ vol-voks ]

/ ˈvɒl vɒks /

noun

any colonial, freshwater green algae of the genus Volvox, forming a hollow, greenish sphere of flagellated cells.

Nearby words

volutin, volution, volva, volvelle, volvent, volvox, volvulosis, volvulus, volzhsky, vom, vomer

Origin of volvox

1790–1800; < New Latin, equivalent to Latin volv(ere) to turn, roll + -ōx (as in ferōx)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for volvox

After a period of rest each zygote, through a series of cell-divisions, develops into an adult Volvox.
Being Well-Born|Michael F. Guyer
Part of the surface of a colony of Volvox globator, L. (Volvocidae), showing the intercellular connective fibrils.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 4|Various
A very instructive example is furnished by the case of volvox, a multicellular vegative organism of very curious habits.
The Truth About Woman|C. Gasquoine Hartley
Volvox is also a spheroidal organism, composed often of a very large number of flagellated cells.
The Whence and the Whither of Man|John Mason Tyler

In some cases (Volvox) the cluster, or the compound plant, is round and moves briskly in the water, closely resembling an animal.
The Story of Evolution|Joseph McCabe

British Dictionary definitions for volvox

volvox

/ (ˈvɒlvɒks) /

noun

any freshwater flagellate protozoan of the genus Volvox, occurring in colonies in the form of hollow multicellular spheres

Word Origin for volvox

C18: from New Latin, from Latin volvere to roll

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for volvox

volvox

1798, from Latin volvere "to roll," from PIE root *wel- "to turn, revolve," with derivatives referring to curved, enclosing objects (cf. Sanskrit valate "turns round," ulvam "womb, vulva;" Lithuanian valtis "twine, net," apvalus "round;" Old Church Slavonic valiti "roll, welter," vluna "wave;" Greek eluo "wind, wrap," helix "spiral object," eilein "to turn, squeeze;" Gothic walwjan "to roll;" Old English wealwian "roll," weoloc "whelk, spiral-shelled mollusk;" Old High German walzan "to roll, waltz;" Old Irish fulumain "rolling;" Welsh olwyn "wheel").