amoeba
/əˈmiːbə/ noun
Forms amoebae amoebas ameba amœba
- noun (biology) A member of the genus Amoeba of unicellular protozoa that moves by means of temporary projections called pseudopodia.
- noun Any eukaryote that exhibits amoeboid movement, having the ability to change its shape.
- noun (historical) Any member of the class or phylum Sarcodina, a polyphyletic grouping into which diverse amoeboids were placed.
- noun (mathematics) A graph of the real part of the logarithms of a polynomial equation in complex numbers.
- noun (slang) An asexual.
- noun (cellular automata) A large pattern with fluctuating edges typically made of whitespace.
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Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἀμοιβή (amoibḗ, “change”), referring to constantly changing shape of these organisms.
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “amoeba”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details