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animalcule

 - 4 dictionary results

an⋅i⋅mal⋅cule

  [an-uh-mal-kyool]
–noun
1. a minute or microscopic animal, nearly or quite invisible to the naked eye, as an infusorian or rotifer.
2. Archaic. a tiny animal, as a mouse or fly.
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Origin:
1590–1600; < NL animalculum a small animal. See animal, -cule 1

Related forms:
an⋅i⋅mal⋅cu⋅lar  [an-uh-mal-kyuh-ler] , an⋅i⋅mal⋅cu⋅line  [an-uh-mal-kyuh-lin] , an⋅i⋅mal⋅cu⋅lous, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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an·i·mal·cule   (ān'ə-māl'kyōōl)   
n.   pl. an·i·mal·cules also an·i·mal·cu·la (-kyə-lə)

  1. A microscopic or minute organism, such as an amoeba or paramecium, usually considered to be an animal.

  2. Archaic A tiny animal, such as a mosquito.


[New Latin animalculum, diminutive of Latin animal, animal, from anima, soul; see anima.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

animalcule 
"very small animal," 1599, from L.L. animalculum, dim. of L. animal (see animal).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: an·i·mal·cule
Pronunciation: "an-&-'mal-(")kyü(&)l
Variant: also an·i·mal·cu·lum /-'mal-ky&-l&m/
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural an·i·mal·cules also an·i·mal·cu·la /-ky&-l&/
: a minute usually microscopic organism
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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