paramecium

American  

[par-uh-mee-shee-uhm, -shuhm, -see-uhm] / ˌpær əˈmi ʃi əm, -ʃəm, -si əm /

noun

plural

paramecia

1. any ciliated freshwater protozoan of the genus Paramecium, having an oval body and a long, deep oral groove.

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paramecium British  

/ ˌpærəˈmiːsɪəm /

noun

1. any freshwater protozoan of the genus Paramecium, having an oval body covered with cilia and a ventral ciliated groove for feeding: phylum Ciliophora (ciliates)

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paramecium Scientific  

/ păr′ə-mē′sē-əm /

plural

paramecia

1. Any of various freshwater protozoans of the genus Paramecium that are usually oval in shape and that move by means of cilia. Although they consist of a single cell, paramecia are large enough to be visible to the naked eye. Like other ciliates, paramecia contain two nuclei, a macronucleus and a micronucleus. On the cellular surface is a groove that opens into a gullet, into which food particles are absorbed.

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Etymology

Origin of paramecium

1745–55; < New Latin < Greek paramḗk ( ēs ) oblong, oval + New Latin -ium noun suffix; -ium

Compare meaning

How does paramecium compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• amoeba vs. paramecium

Explanation

Paramecium is a zoological term for a teeny creature that's part of the genus Paramecium. Any paramecium will have an oblong form and be unicellular. That's how small a paramecium is: it only consists of one cell. To look at a paramecium, you'd better have a powerful microscope. The shape of a paramecium has been compared to a slipper or other type of shoe. Paramecia — that's the plural form — are found in freshwater and feed on other extremely small organisms.

Example Sentences

Each is a rectangle about 300 micrometers long and 200 micrometers wide, roughly the size of a paramecium.

From Science Magazine • Mar. 7, 2024

The book takes us from the clumsy inquisitiveness of an upstart paramecium searching for food several hundred million years ago to the restless seeking that propelled big-brained Homo sapiens into the space age.

From Nature • Jan. 27, 2020

Others are covered in rows or tufts of tiny cilia that they coordinately beat to swim—typically paramecium.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

Strip malls line the town’s highways like paramecium.

From Salon • Mar. 13, 2014

When the paramecium bursaria runs out of food, all he needs to do is stay in the sun and his green endosymbionts will keep him supplied as though he were a grain.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas