Aeroplanktons

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Microscopic organisms or biological particles that drift in the atmosphere ; airborne entities comparable to ocean plankton that are transported by air currents ; forms of life or organic matter suspended in the air and dispersed by the wind
2. Minuscule life forms or organic fragments carried by the air ; living or nonliving material found floating in Earth's atmosphere similar to aquatic plankton ; atmospheric particles of biological origin moving freely with airflows
3. Tiny biological entities or particles that inhabit the atmosphere and are dispersed by wind ; living or nonliving matter airborne like plankton in water ; small-scale organisms or organic debris naturally suspended in air

Etymology: Aeroplankton is a compound built from two parts: "aero-", from Greek "aēr" meaning air, and "plankton", a term for the drifting microscopic life of water. The plural form simply counts multiple such organisms. The surprising part is the second half, which was borrowed from the sea. "Plankton" comes from the Greek "planktos", meaning wandering or drifting, a fitting name for organisms that float with currents rather than swim against them. The coinage takes that idea into the sky. Just as marine plankton drifts through water without the strength to resist its movement, aeroplankton drifts through the air, carried by wind rather than by its own power. Spores, pollen, bacteria, and tiny insects can all be swept aloft this way and travel great distances before settling.

Synonyms: airborne plankton, air plankton, aerial plankton