genus amoeba | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

210 entries found.

type of microscopic protozoa, 1855, from Modern Latin Amoeba, genus name (1841 in English, said to have been used 1830 by German naturalist Christian Ehrenberg), from Greek amoibe "change, alteration; exchange," which is related to ameibein "to change, exchange," from PIE *(e)meigw-, which is an extended form of root *mei- (1) "to change, go, move" or perhaps a separate root. So called for its constantly changing shape. An earlier popular name for it was proteus (1660s). Related: Amoebic; amoebiform; amoeboid.

genus (n.)

(Latin plural genera), 1550s as a term of logic, "kind or class of things" (biological sense dates from c. 1600), from Latin genus (genitive generis) "race, stock, kind; family, birth, descent, origin" (from suffixed form of PIE root *gene- "give birth, beget," with derivatives referring to procreation and familial and tribal groups).

amoebae

classically correct plural form of amoeba; see -ae.

amoebaean (adj.)

also amoebean, "alternating, answering alternately," 1650s, from Greek amoibe "change, alteration; exchange" (see amoeba) + -an.

genera (n.)

plural of genus.

selachian (adj.)

"cartilaginous fish resembling or related to a shark of the genus selachii," 1835; the genus name from Latinized form of Greek selakhos (plural selakhē) "cartilaginous fish," which is of uncertain origin.

genotype (n.)

"genetic constitution of an individual," 1910, from German Genotypus (Wilhelm Johannsen, 1909); see gene + type (n.). Earlier the same word was used with a sense of "type-species of a genus" (1897); in this case, the first element is from genus.

Morus (n.)

genus of mulberry trees, from Latin morus "mulberry tree."

schistosome (n.)

"parasite of the genus Schistosoma" (1905); the genus name (1858) is a Modern Latin formation from Greek skhistos "divided, cloven" (from skhizein "to split;" see schizo-) + sōma "body" (see somato-). Related: Schistosomatosis "disease caused by schistosomes" (1906).

Pilobolus (n.)

genus of fungi, Modern Latin, from Greek pilos "felt" (see pileated) + bōlos "a clod, clump."

Trending words