zoon

zo·on

[zoh-on]
noun, plural zo·a [zoh-uh] . Biology Rare.
1.
any of the individuals of a compound organism.
2.
any individual, or the individuals collectively, produced from a single egg.
3.
zooid.
Origin:
1860–65; < Neo-Latin zōon < Greek zôion animal

Related forms
zo·on·al [zoh-uh-nl] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged

-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:
see zoon

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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00:10
Zoon is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
zoon (ˈzəʊɒn) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n , pl zoa, zoons
a less common term for zooid
 
[C19: from New Latin, from Greek zōion animal; related to Greek zōē life]
 
zo'onal
 
—adj

-zoon
 
—n combining form
indicating an individual animal or an independently moving entity derived from an animal: spermatozoon
 
[from Greek zōion animal]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

-zoon suff.
Animal; independently moving organic unit: spermatozoon.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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