gonidium

[ goh-nid-ee-uhm ]

noun

, plural go·nid·i·a [goh-, nid, -ee-, uh].

1. (in algae) any one-celled asexual reproductive body, as a tetraspore or zoospore.
2. an algal cell, or a filament of an alga, growing within the thallus of a lichen.

gonidium

/ ɡəˈnɪdɪəm /

noun

1. a green algal cell in the thallus of a lichen
2. an asexual reproductive cell in some colonial algae

gonidium

/ gō-nĭd′ē-əm /

, Plural gonidia

1. An asexual reproductive cell found in certain algae that form colonies. Gonidia undergo repeated mitoses to form new colonies, which then hatch out of the parent colonies.
2. A chlorophyll-bearing, photosynthetic algal cell housed in the thallus of a lichen.

Derived Forms

• goˈnidial, adjective

Other Words From

• go·nidi·al go·nidic adjective
• go·nidi·oid adjective
• inter·go·nidi·al adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gonidium¹

1835–45; < New Latin, equivalent to gon- gon- + -idium noun suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of gonidium¹

C19: from New Latin, diminutive from gono-

Example Sentences

At free end of each sterigma is formed an oval body—a spore or "gonidium" (d), which, when ripe, is thrown off from the sterigma.

From Project Gutenberg

The motile force is imparted to the gonidium by dense rows of waving cilia with which it is completely surrounded.

From Project Gutenberg

Ripe asexually produced daughter-individual of Volvox minor, Stein, still enclosed in the cyst of the partheno-gonidium.

From Project Gutenberg