Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Diatom
1.
(Bot.)
One of the
Diatomaceæ
, a family of minute unicellular Algæ having a siliceous covering of great delicacy, each individual multiplying by spontaneous division. By some authors diatoms are called Bacillariæ
, but this word is not in general use. 2.
A particle or atom endowed with the vital principle.
The individual is nothing. He is no more than the
diatom
, the bit of protoplasm. Mrs. E. Lynn Linton.
Definition 2024
diatom
diatom
English
A view of diatoms through the microscope.
Noun
diatom (plural diatoms)
- Any of a group of minute unicellular algae having a siliceous covering of great delicacy, now categorized as class Diatomophyceae or division Bacillariophyta, formerly all included in the order Diatomaceae, now obsolete.
Derived terms
Translations
grouping of minute algae
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