Protoplasm
noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 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. countable, uncountable
- 2 the substance of a living cell (including cytoplasm and nucleus) wordnet
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).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.