Dictionary entry

Plasmodium

Webster's Dictionary 1913

‖Plas‐mo″di‐um (?), n.; pl.Plasmodia (#). [NL. See Plasma.] 1. (Biol.) A jellylike mass of free protoplasm, without any union of amœboid cells, and endowed with life and power of motion.

2. (Zoöl.) A naked mobile mass of protoplasm, formed by the union of several amœbalike young, and constituting one of the stages in the life cycle of Mycetozoa and other low organisms.