Proteus

//ˈpɹoʊti.əs// name, noun

name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Any of many gram-negative bacteria, of the genus Proteus, several of which are responsible for human infections.
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A sea god who could change his shape at will. Greek
  2. 2
    The sixth satellite of the planet Neptune.

Synonyms

All synonyms
allotropychameleondiversificationdiversitygenus proteusmercury

Example

More examples

"The olm, or proteus, is found only in the underground lakes of Carniola and one or two other parts of Central Europe."

Etymology

Etymology 1

Derived from Ancient Greek Πρωτεύς (Prōteús).

Etymology 2

From the genus name.

Related phrases

Proteus effectProteus syndromegram negative

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.