Protozoa - Definitions from Dictionary.com

9 results for: Protozoa

Browse Nearby Entries

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

Pro·to·zo·a

Audio Help [proh-tuh-zoh-uh] Pronunciation Key

–noun

a major grouping or superphylum of the kingdom Protista, comprising the protozoans.

[Origin: 1825–35; < NL; see proto-, -zoa

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Protozoa

To learn more about Protozoa visit Britannica.com

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

pro·to·zo·an

Audio Help [proh-tuh-zoh-uh

n] Pronunciation Key noun, plural -zo·ans, (especially collectively

) -zo·a

Audio Help [-zoh-uh] Pronunciation Key, adjective Biology

–noun

any of a diverse group of eukaryotes, of the kingdom Protista, that are primarily unicellular, existing singly or aggregating into colonies, are usually nonphotosynthetic, and are often classified further into phyla according to their capacity for and means of motility, as by pseudopods, flagella, or cilia.

–adjective

2.	of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a protozoan.

[Origin: 1860–65; Protozo(a) + -an

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

pro·to·zo·on

Audio Help [proh-tuh-zoh-on, -uh

n] Pronunciation Key

–noun, plural -zo·a

Audio Help [-zoh-uh] Pronunciation Key.

protozoan.

[Origin: sing. of Protozoa

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

pro·to·zo·an Audio Help (prō'tə-zō'ən) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. pro·to·zo·ans or pro·to·zo·a (-zō'ə) also pro·to·zo·ons
Any of a large group of single-celled, usually microscopic, eukaryotic organisms, such as amoebas, ciliates, flagellates, and sporozoans.

[From New Latin Protozōa, former subkingdom name : proto- + -zōa, pl. of -zōon, -zoon.]

pro'to·zo'an, pro'to·zo'al, pro'to·zo'ic adj.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
protozoa

1834, from Mod.L., coined 1818 by Ger. zoologist Georg August Goldfuss (1782-1848) from Gk. protos "first" + zoia, pl. of zoion "animal" (see zoo).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

protozoa
noun
in some classifications considered a superphylum or a subkingdom; comprises flagellates; ciliates; sporozoans; amoebas; foraminifers

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

protozoan Audio Help (prō'tə-zō'ən) Pronunciation Key
Plural protozoans or protozoa
Any of a large group of one-celled organisms (called protists) that live in water or as parasites. Many protozoans move about by means of appendages known as cilia or flagella. Protozoans include the amoebas, flagellates, foraminiferans, and ciliates. Their traditional classification as the subkingdom Protozoa is still used for convenience, but it is now known that protozoans represent several evolutionarily distinct groups. See more at protist.

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
protozoa [(proh-tuh-zoh-uh)]

Single-celled animals, such as amoebas, that are the most primitive form of animal life. In modern biology, they are classified in the kingdom of Protoctista rather than in the animal kingdom. (See Linnean classification.)

Note: Some protozoa are parasites and may be pathogenic, causing diseases such as malaria and dysentery.

[Chapter:] Life Sciences

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Protozoa

An"i*mal\, a. [Cf. F. animal.]

1. Of or relating to animals; as, animal functions.

2. Pertaining to the merely sentient part of a creature, as distinguished from the intellectual, rational, or spiritual part; as, the animal passions or appetites.

3. Consisting of the flesh of animals; as, animal food.

Animal magnetism. See Magnetism and Mesmerism.

Animal electricity, the electricity developed in some animals, as the electric eel, torpedo, etc.

Animal flower (Zo["o]l.), a name given to certain marine animals resembling a flower, as any species of actinia or sea anemone, and other Anthozoa, hydroids, starfishes, etc.

Animal heat (Physiol.), the heat generated in the body of a living animal, by means of which the animal is kept at nearly a uniform temperature.

Animal spirits. See under Spirit.

Animal kingdom, the whole class of beings endowed with animal life. It embraces several subkingdoms, and under these there are Classes, Orders, Families, Genera, Species, and sometimes intermediate groupings, all in regular subordination, but variously arranged by different writers.

Note: The following are the grand divisions, or subkingdoms, and the principal classes under them, generally recognized at the present time: Vertebrata, including Mammalia or Mammals, Aves or Birds, Reptilia, Amphibia, Pisces or Fishes, Marsipobranchiata (Craniota); and Leptocardia (Acrania). Tunicata, including the Thaliacea, and Ascidioidea or Ascidians. Articulata or Annulosa, including Insecta, Myriapoda, Malacapoda, Arachnida, Pycnogonida, Merostomata, Crustacea (Arthropoda); and Annelida, Gehyrea (Anarthropoda). Helminthes or Vermes, including Rotifera, Ch[ae]tognatha, Nematoidea, Acanthocephala, Nemertina, Turbellaria, Trematoda, Cestoidea, Mesozea. Molluscoidea, including Brachiopoda and Bryozoa. Mollusca, including Cephalopoda, Gastropoda, Pteropoda, Scaphopoda, Lamellibranchiata or Acephala. Echinodermata, including Holothurioidea, Echinoidea, Asterioidea, Ophiuroidea, and Crinoidea. C[oe]lenterata, including Anthozoa or Polyps, Ctenophora, and Hydrozoa or Acalephs. Spongiozoa or Porifera, including the sponges. Protozoa, including Infusoria and Rhizopoda. For definitions, see these names in the Vocabulary.

Browse Nearby Entries: