Protoplast

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  protoplast
       n : a biological unit consisting of a nucleus and the body of
           cytoplasm with which it interacts [syn: {energid}]