protoplast

American  

[proh-tuh-plast] / ˈproʊ təˌplæst /

noun

1. Biology.

   1. the contents of a cell within the cell membrane, considered as a fundamental entity.

   2. the primordial living unit or cell.

2. a person or thing that is formed first; original; prototype.

3. the hypothetical first individual or one of the supposed first pair of a species or the like.

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protoplast British  

/ ˈprəʊtəˌplæst /

noun

1. a unit consisting of the living parts of a cell, including the protoplasm and cell membrane but not the vacuoles or (in plants) the cell wall

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Other Word Forms

• protoplastic adjective

Etymology

Origin of protoplast

1525–35; < Late Latin prōtoplastus the first man, noun use of Greek prōtóplastos formed first. See proto-, -plast

Example Sentences

Stewart and his collaborators have developed a robot that performs an established technique called protoplast transformation faster and more accurately than is possible by hand.

From Nature • Nov. 1, 2016

The differentiation into nucleus and cytoplasm represents a division of labour in the protoplast.

From Darwin and Modern Science by Seward, A. C. (Albert Charles)

I came out of the chamber all protoplast except for the spinal zone.

From Man Made by Teichner, Albert

He furrowed his protoplast brow that looked as youthful as it had a century ago.

From Man Made by Teichner, Albert

Shall this germ and protoplast of being Rest mid-life and say his race is run?

From Behind the Arras A Book of the Unseen by Meteyard, Thomas Buford