protoplasm
noun
Forms protoplasms
- noun (cytology) The entire contents of a cell comprising the nucleus and the cytoplasm. It is a semi-fluid, transparent substance which is the living matter of plant and animal cells.
Synonyms
Etymology
From German Protoplasma, coined by Czech physiologist Jan Evangelista Purkyně, from Ancient Greek πρῶτος (prôtos, “first”) + πλάσμα (plásma, “something molded”). By surface analysis, proto- + -plasm. Compare also protoplasma, used in Late Latin for the “first-created one” (i.e. Adam).
Webster’s 1913
- noun The viscid and more or less granular material of vegetable and animal cells, possessed of vital properties by which the processes of nutrition, secretion, and growth go forward; the so-called " physical basis of life;" the original cell substance, cytoplasm, cytoblastema, bioplasm sarcode, etc.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “protoplasm”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details