plasmodium Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun multinucleate sheet of cytoplasm characteristic of some stages of such organisms as slime molds
  2. noun parasitic protozoan of the genus Plasmodium that causes malaria in humans
    Plasmodium vivax; malaria parasite.

WordNet


Plas*mo"di*um noun
Etymology
NL. See Plasma.
Wordforms
plural Plasmodia
Definitions
  1. (Biol.) A jellylike mass of free protoplasm, without any union of amoeboid cells, and endowed with life and power of motion.
  2. (Zoöl.) A naked mobile mass of protoplasm, formed by the union of several amoebalike young, and constituting one of the stages in the life cycle of Mycetozoa and other low organisms. (a) a genus of microorganisms (b) an individual malarial parasite cell.

Webster 1913