zooid

American  

[zoh-oid] / ˈzoʊ ɔɪd /

noun

1. any organic body or cell capable of spontaneous movement and of an existence more or less apart from or independent of the parent organism.

2. any animal organism or individual capable of separate existence, and produced by fission, gemmation, or some method other than direct sexual reproduction.

3. any one of the recognizably distinct individuals or elements of a compound or colonial animallike organism, whether or not detached or detachable.

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adjective

1. Also zooidal. pertaining to, resembling, or of the nature of an animal.

zooid British  

/ ˈzəʊɔɪd /

noun

1. any independent animal body, such as an individual of a coelenterate colony

2. a motile cell or body, such as a gamete, produced by an organism

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• zooidal
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of zooid

First recorded in 1850–55; zo- + -oid

Example Sentences

In colonial corals a bud is always formed from the edge-zone, and this bud develops into a new zooid with its corallum.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 2 "Anjar" to "Apollo" by Various

The individuals are round and disk-shaped, with a large zooid in the center of the under side, surrounded by smaller nutritive and reproductive zooids, and by slender dactylozooids near the margin.

From The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary Section P and Q by Project Gutenberg

In certain hydroids, an imperfect zooid, whose special function is to produce medusoid buds.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages) by Webster, Noah

The elongation of the mouth and stomodaeum confer a bilateral symmetry on the body of the zooid, which is extended to other organs of the body.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 2 "Anjar" to "Apollo" by Various

In division a vertical constriction divides a zooid into two equal or unequal parts, and the several parts of the two corals thus produced are severally derived from the corresponding parts of the dividing corallum.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 2 "Anjar" to "Apollo" by Various