paramecium
[ par-uh-mee-shee-uh m, -shuh m, -see-uh m ]
/ ˌpær əˈmi ʃi əm, -ʃəm, -si əm /
noun, plural par·a·me·ci·a [par-uh-mee-shee-uh, -shuh, -see-uh] /ˌpær əˈmi ʃi ə, -ʃə, -si ə/.
any ciliated freshwater protozoan of the genus Paramecium, having an oval body and a long, deep oral groove.
Origin of paramecium
Words nearby paramecium
paramagnetism,
paramaribo,
paramastitis,
paramatman,
paramatta,
paramecium,
paramedic,
paramedical,
paramenia,
parament,
paramesonephric duct
Example sentences from the Web for paramecium
Swimming vigorously in the water, they devote themselves to chasing the Paramecium.
The Ocean World: |Louis FiguierThe Paramecium are propagated by spontaneous division, as already described.
The Ocean World: |Louis FiguierThe neurone, however, is a little unicellular animal, like the amoeba or the paramecium.
Introduction to the Science of Sociology |Robert E. ParkJennings found a number of races of paramecium of different sizes living under natural conditions.
A Critique of the Theory of Evolution |Thomas Hunt Morgan
British Dictionary definitions for paramecium
paramecium
/ (ˌpærəˈmiːsɪəm) /
noun plural -cia (-sɪə)
any freshwater protozoan of the genus Paramecium, having an oval body covered with cilia and a ventral ciliated groove for feeding: phylum Ciliophora (ciliates)
Word Origin for paramecium
C18: New Latin, from Greek
paramēkēs elongated, from
para-
1 +
mēkos length
Medical definitions for paramecium
Paramecium
[ păr′ə-mē′shē-əm, -sē-əm ]
n.
A genus of freshwater ciliate protozoans, characteristically slipper-shaped and covered with cilia, and commonly used for genetic research and other studies.
Scientific definitions for paramecium
paramecium
[ păr′ə-mē′sē-əm ]
Plural paramecia parameciums
Any of various freshwater protozoans of the genus Paramecium that are usually oval in shape and that move by means of cilia. Although they consist of a single cell, paramecia are large enough to be visible to the naked eye. Like other ciliates, paramecia contain two nuclei, a macronucleus and a micronucleus. On the cellular surface is a groove that opens into a gullet, into which food particles are absorbed.