paramecium

noun

par·​a·​me·​cium ˌper-ə-ˈmē-sh(ē-)əm 

-sē-əm,

ˌpa-rə-

plural paramecia ˌper-ə-ˈmē-sh(ē-)ə 

-sē-ə,

ˌpa-rə-

also parameciums

: any of a genus (Paramecium) of ciliate chiefly freshwater protozoans that have an elongate body rounded at the anterior end and an oblique funnel-shaped buccal groove bearing the mouth at the extremity

Examples of paramecium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Few organisms rank lower in life than the gelatinous, pond-dwelling paramecium. —Mara Grunbaum, Discover Magazine, 3 July 2011

The boost in genetic information may have given the paramecium a survival advantage by allowing for more beneficial mutations, which drive evolution. —Mara Grunbaum, Discover Magazine, 3 July 2011

The myth of the simple paramecium was shattered in 2006 when scientists sequenced its genome. —Mara Grunbaum, Discover Magazine, 3 July 2011

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin Paramecium, pre-Linnaean name for protozoa of the genus, from Greek paramḗkēs "oblong, oval" (from para- para- entry 1 + -mēkēs, adjective corresponding to mêkos "length, height, magnitude") + New Latin -ium -ium — more at meager

Note: The name Paramecium was introduced, in both Latin descriptions and English descriptions maintaining the Latin coinage Paramecium, by the English polymath John Hill (ca. 1714-1775) in An History of Animals (London, 1752, vol. 3 of his A General Natural History), p. 4. The word was first used as a Linnaean genus name by Otto Frederik Müller in Vermivm terrestrium et fluviatilium, seu, Animalium infusoriorum … succincta historia, vol. 1 (Copenhagen & Leipzig, 1773), p. 54 (spelled unetymologically Paramæcium, corrected in later publications).

First Known Use

1752, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

paramecium

noun

par·​a·​me·​cium ˌpar-ə-ˈmē-sh(ē-)əm 

-sē-əm

plural paramecia -sh(ē-)ə 

-sē-ə

also parameciums

: any of a genus of one-celled somewhat slipper-shaped mostly freshwater protozoans that move by cilia

Medical Definition

paramecium

noun

par·​a·​me·​cium ˌpar-ə-ˈmē-sh(ē-)əm, -sē-əm 

1

capitalized : a genus of ciliate protozoans that have an elongate body rounded at the anterior end and an oblique funnel-shaped buccal groove bearing the mouth at the extremity

2

plural paramecia -sh(ē-)ə, -sē-ə  also parameciums : any ciliate protozoan of the genus Paramecium