animalcule

[ an-uh-mal-kyool ]
/ ˌæn əˈmæl kyul /

noun

a minute or microscopic animal, nearly or quite invisible to the naked eye, as an infusorian or rotifer.
Archaic. a tiny animal, as a mouse or fly.

Origin of animalcule

First recorded in 1590–1600, animalcule is from the New Latin word animalculum a small animal. See animal, -cule1

OTHER WORDS FROM animalcule

an·i·mal·cu·lar [an-uh-mal-kyuh-ler] /ˌæn əˈmæl kyə lər/, an·i·mal·cu·line [an-uh-mal-kyuh-lin] /ˌæn əˈmæl kyə lɪn/, an·i·mal·cu·lous, adjective

Words nearby animalcule

animal rights, animal shelter, animal spirits, animal starch, animal warden, animalcule, animalculum, animalia, animalier, animalism, animalist

British Dictionary definitions for animalculous

animalcule

animalculum (ˌænɪˈmælkjʊləm)

/ (ˌænɪˈmælkjuːl) /

noun plural -cules or -cula (-kjʊlə)

a microscopic animal such as an amoeba or rotifer

Derived forms of animalcule

animalcular, adjective

Word Origin for animalcule

C16: from New Latin animalculum a small animal