Plasmodium

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /plazˈməʊdɪəm/

Definitions

1. A genus of parasitic protozoa that includes the causative agents of malaria in humans and other animals
2. These organisms have complex life cycles and inhabit the blood of hosts, leading to various disease manifestations
3. The species within this genus are transmitted by mosquito bites and undergo asexual reproduction in the host's liver and blood

Etymology: "Plasmodium" is a modern scientific coinage, not a word from antiquity. It was created in the nineteenth century from the Greek-derived Latin "plasma," meaning something moulded or formed, and the "-odium" ending is a Latinised Greek-style suffix attached to make a formal genus name. The word entered the scientific vocabulary through German, so the name reached English already fully formed by biologists writing in that language. The word's meaning shows the logic behind that choice. Early microscopists watched these single-celled organisms as shapeless, streaming masses of living matter, and "plasma" captured that sense of a moulded, formless substance. Over time the name settled on the genus that includes the parasites responsible for malaria in humans and other animals, so a word meaning "something formed" now names organisms most people only encounter through a disease.

Synonyms: protozoan, parasite, microorganism