Fungus

4 definitions found

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

  Fungi \Fun"gi\ (f[u^]n"j[imac]), n. pl.; sing. {fungus}. (Biol.)
     A group of thallophytic plant-like organisms of low
     organization, destitute of chlorophyll, in which reproduction
     is mainly accomplished by means of asexual spores, which are
     produced in a great variety of ways, though sexual
     reproduction is known to occur in certain {Phycomycetes}, or


     so-called algal fungi. They include the molds, mildews,
     rusts, smuts, mushrooms, toadstools, puff balls, and the
     allies of each. In the two-kingdom classification system they
     were classed with the plants, but in the modern five-kingdom
     classification, they are not classed as plants, but are
     classed in their own separate kingdom fungi, which includes
     the phyla Zygomycota (including simple fungi such as bread
     molds), Ascomycota (including the yeasts), Basidiomycota
     (including the mushrooms, smuts, and rusts), and
     Deuteromycota (the {fungi imperfecti}). Some of the forms,
     such as the yeasts, appear as single-celled microorganisms,
     but all of the fungi are are eukaryotic, thus distinguishing
     them from the prokaryotic microorganisms of the kingdon
     Monera.
     [Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]
  
     Note: The Fungi appear to have originated by degeneration
           from various alg[ae], losing their chlorophyll on
           assuming a parasitic or saprophytic life. In an earlier
           classification they were divided into the subclasses
           {Phycomycetes}, the lower or algal fungi; the
           {Mesomycetes}, or intermediate fungi; and the
           {Mycomycetes}, or the higher fungi; by others into the
           {Phycomycetes}; the {Ascomycetes}, or sac-spore fungi;
           and the {Basidiomycetes}, or basidial-spore fungi.
           [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

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

  Fungus \Fun"gus\, n.; pl. L. {Fungi}, E. {Funguses}. [L., a
     mushroom; perh. akin to a doubtful Gr. ? sponge, for ?; if
     so, cf. E. sponge.]
     1. (Bot.) Any one of the {Fungi}, a large and very complex
        group of thallophytes of low organization, -- the molds,
        mildews, rusts, smuts, mushrooms, toadstools, puff balls,
        and the allies of each. See {fungi}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: The fungi are all destitute of chorophyll, and,
           therefore, to be supplied with elaborated nourishment,
           must live as saprophytes or parasites. They range in
           size from single microscopic cells to systems of
           entangled threads many feet in extent, which develop
           reproductive bodies as large as a man's head. The
           vegetative system consists of septate or rarely
           unseptate filaments called hyph[ae]; the aggregation of
           hyph[ae] into structures of more or less definite form
           is known as the mycelium. See {Fungi}, in the
           Supplement.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Med.) A spongy, morbid growth or granulation in animal
        bodies, as the proud flesh of wounds. --Hoblyn.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  fungus
       n : a parasitic plant lacking chlorophyll and leaves and true
           stems and roots and reproducing by spores
       [also: {fungi} (pl)]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  121 Moby Thesaurus words for "fungus":
     adenovirus, aerobe, aerobic bacteria, amoeba, amphibian, anaerobe,
     anaerobic bacteria, angiosperm, annual, aquatic plant, bacillus,
     bacteria, bacterium, benign tumor, biennial, blast, blight,
     bread mold, bug, callosity, callus, cancer, canker, carcinoma,
     coccus, corn, cosmopolite, cutting, cyst, deciduous plant, dicot,
     dicotyledon, disease-producing microorganism, dry rot, echovirus,
     enterovirus, ephemeral, ergot, evergreen, excrescence, exotic,
     filterable virus, flowering plant, fungosity, gametophyte, germ,
     gram-negative bacteria, gram-positive bacteria, green mold, growth,
     gymnosperm, hydrophyte, intumescence, malignant growth,
     metastatic tumor, microbe, microorganism, mildew, mold, mole,
     monocot, monocotyl, morbid growth, moth, moth and rust, mushroom,
     must, neoplasm, nevus, nonfilterable virus, nonmalignant tumor,
     outgrowth, pathogen, perennial, pest, picornavirus, plant, polycot,
     polycotyl, polycotyledon, protozoa, protozoon, proud flesh,
     puffball, reovirus, rhinovirus, rickettsia, rot, rust, sarcoma,
     seed plant, seedling, slime mold, smut, spermatophyte, spirillum,
     spirochete, spore, sporophyte, staphylococcus, streptococcus,
     thallophyte, tinea, toadstool, triennial, truffle, trypanosome,
     tuckahoe, tumor, vascular plant, vegetable, verruca, verticillium,
     vibrio, virus, wart, water mold, weed, wen, worm, yeast