animalcula
|an-i-mal-cu-la|
/ˌænɪˈmælkjʊlə/
(animalculum)
microscopic little animals
Etymology
'animalcula' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'animalculum,' where 'animal-' meant 'living being' and the diminutive suffix '-culum' meant 'little thing.'
'animalculum' entered scientific English; its Latin neuter plural 'animalcula' appeared in early modern English texts and coexisted with the French-derived English form 'animalcule' (plural 'animalcules') through the 17th–19th centuries.
Initially, it meant 'little animals' in a literal diminutive sense; over time it came to denote any microscopic living entities observed with early microscopes, a usage largely replaced today by 'microorganisms' or 'microbes'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
plural of 'animalculum'.
Under the microscope, the sample teemed with animalcula.
Noun 2
archaic: minute or microscopic organisms, especially those observed by early microscopists.
Eighteenth-century naturalists often described the animalcula found in pond water.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/08/11 18:37