Protista
|pro-tis-ta|
/prəˈtɪstə/
early/simple eukaryotes
Etymology
'Protista' originates from New Latin, ultimately from the Greek word 'protos', where 'protos' meant 'first'.
'Protista' was coined in New Latin by Ernst Haeckel in the 19th century (1866) and was adopted into modern English scientific usage as the name for a kingdom-level grouping.
Initially, it carried the sense of 'first' or 'primitive' organisms, but over time it evolved to refer specifically to a diverse (often paraphyletic) assemblage of mostly unicellular eukaryotes.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a kingdom-level taxon (historically) of mostly unicellular eukaryotic organisms, traditionally including algae, protozoa, and slime molds; often treated as a paraphyletic group in modern biology.
Protista was proposed as a kingdom to classify organisms that were neither plants, animals, nor fungi.
Synonyms
Noun 2
(informal) An individual organism belonging to the group Protista; a protist.
Amoebas and many single-celled algae are often discussed as members of Protista in introductory texts.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/09/12 11:26