Pro″to‐plast (?), n. [L. protoplastus the first man, Gr. � formed or created first; � first + � formed, fr. � to form.]
1. The thing first formed; that of which there are subsequent copies or reproductions; the original.
2. (Biol.) A first-formed organized body; the first individual, or pair of individuals, of a species.
A species is a class of individuals, each of which is hypothetically considered to be the descendant of the same protoplast, or of the same pair of protoplasts. Latham.