archoplasm
|arch-o-plasm|
🇺🇸
/ˈɑr.kəˌplæzəm/
🇬🇧
/ˈɑː.kə.plæzəm/
primitive/formative cell substance
Etymology
'archoplasm' originates from Greek combining elements: Greek 'arkhē' (ἀρχή) meaning 'beginning, principal' and Greek 'plasma' (πλάσμα) meaning 'that which is formed' (via New Latin/coinage in scientific usage).
'archoplasm' was coined in 19th-century scientific literature (appearing in languages such as German as 'Archoplasma') and entered English usage to denote formative cell substance; over time the term declined in general use and concepts were absorbed by terms like 'protoplasm', 'cytoplasm' or specialized into meanings like 'endoplasm'.
Initially it meant 'the primitive or formative substance of cells'; over time it has become rare/archaic in general biology and is now either historical or used more narrowly to mean the inner cytoplasmic region (endoplasm).
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
an archaic or historical term for the formative living substance of a cell — essentially protoplasm or the germinal material of a cell.
In early cytology texts, researchers often referred to the cell's living substance as the archoplasm.
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Noun 2
the central or inner region of the cytoplasm (akin to endoplasm), contrasted with the outer layer (ectoplasm); used in some protozoological descriptions.
Protozoologists distinguished the archoplasm from the ectoplasm when describing the organism's movement.
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Last updated: 2025/10/08 05:42