zoon

[zoh-on]

noun, plural zo·a [zoh-uh] /ˈzoʊ ə/. Biology Rare.

any of the individuals of a compound organism.

any individual, or the individuals collectively, produced from a single egg.

zooid.

Origin of zoon

1860–65; < New Latin zōon < Greek zôion animal

Related formszo·on·al

[zoh-uh-nl] /ˈzoʊ ə nl/, adjective

-zoon

a combining form meaning “animal,” “organism” of the kind specified by the initial element, often corresponding to zoological class names ending in -zoa, with -zoon used to name a single member of such a class: protozoon.

Origin of -zoon

see origin at zoon

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

Examples from the Web for zoon

Historical Examples of zoon

Zummat occurred betwixt us, and Phil was zoon on the ground under me.
Three Courses and a Dessert
Anonymous
Thee zhut thee eyes an' walk about a bit, an' thee'll zoon get down!
Mr. Punch's Country Life
Various
Zoology is formed from two Greek words: zoon, meaning animal, and logos, meaning discourse.
Elementary Zoology, Second Edition
Vernon L. Kellogg
I think it was the zoon of a cicada which waked my attention, and once I heard them they seemed to fill the air with shrieking.
Old Plymouth Trails
Winthrop Packard
This is what prompted Felix Hausdorf to define the human being as zoon semeiotikon- semiotic animal, sign-using animal.
The Civilization of Illiteracy
Mihai Nadin

British Dictionary definitions for zoon

zoon

noun plural zoa (ˈzəʊə) or zoons

a less common term for zooid (def. 1)

Derived Formszoonal, adjective

Word Origin for zoon

C19: from New Latin, from Greek zōion animal; related to Greek zōē life

-zoon

n combining form

indicating an individual animal or an independently moving entity derived from an animalspermatozoon

Word Origin for -zoon

from Greek zōion animal

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 zoon

1864, from Greek zoion "animal" (see zoo).

zoon in Medicine

-zoon

suff.

Animal; independently moving organic unit:spermatozoon.