Adjacent Words

Animalcule definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ANIMAL'CULE, n. [L. animalculum, animalcula.]
A little animal; but appropriately, an animal whose figure cannot be discerned without the aid of a magnifying glass; such as are invisible to the naked eye.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: microscopic organism such as an amoeba or paramecium [syn: animalcule, animalculum]

Merriam Webster's

also animalculum noun (plural -cules; also animalcula) Etymology: New Latin animalculum, diminutive of Latin animal Date: 1662 a minute usually microscopic organism

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. archaic a microscopic animal. Derivatives: animalcular adj. Etymology: mod.L animalculum (as ANIMAL, -CULE)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Animalcule An`i*mal"cule, n. [As if fr. a L. animalculum, dim. of animal.] 1. A small animal, as a fly, spider, etc. [Obs.] --Ray. 2. (Zo["o]l.) An animal, invisible, or nearly so, to the naked eye. See Infusoria. Note: Many of the so-called animalcules have been shown to be plants, having locomotive powers something like those of animals. Among these are Volvox, the Desmidiac[ae], and the siliceous Diatomace[ae]. Spermatic animalcules. See Spermatozoa.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Microscopic animal, very minute animal.