Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Protoplast

Pro′to-plast

,
Noun.
[L.
protoplastus
the first man, Gr. [GREEK] formed or created first; [GREEK] first + [GREEK] formed, fr. [GREEK] to form.]
1.
The thing first formed; that of which there are subsequent copies or reproductions; the original.
2.
(Biol.)
A first-formed organized body; the first individual, or pair of individuals, of a species.
A species is a class of individuals, each of which is hypothetically considered to be the descendant of the same
protoplast
, or of the same pair of
protoplasts
.
Latham.

Webster 1828 Edition


Protoplast

PRO'TOPLAST

,
Noun.
[Gr. first and formed.] The original; the thing first formed, as a copy to be imitated. Thus Adam has been called our protoplast.

Definition 2024


protoplast

protoplast

English

Adjective

protoplast (comparative more protoplast, superlative most protoplast)

  1. (obsolete) Created first; archetypal. [16th-17th c.]

Noun

protoplast (plural protoplasts)

  1. The first-created human; Adam. [from 16th c.]
  2. (rare) A prototype or archetype; a model. [from 17th c.]
  3. The first person in a given family, lineage etc.; an ancestor. [from 17th c.]
    • 2011, Norman Davies, Vanished Kingdoms, Penguin 2012, p. 121:
      Habsburg tradition insists that the protoplast of the family was called Guntram.
  4. (biology) The contents of a plant cell. [from 19th c.]

Translations