1.
[syn: energid, protoplast]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Protoplast \Pro"to*plast\, n. [L. protoplastus the first man,
Gr. ? formed or created first; ? first + ? formed, fr. ? to
form.]
[1913 Webster]
1. The thing first formed; that of which there are subsequent
copies or reproductions; the original.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Biol.) A first-formed organized body; the first
individual, or pair of individuals, of a species.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
protoplast
n 1: a biological unit consisting of a nucleus and the body of
cytoplasm with which it interacts [syn: energid,
protoplast]