animalcule

noun (an animalcule, animalcules — old-fashioned)

«animalcule» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

Everyday

(old science) An animalcule is a tiny living thing that can only be seen with a microscope, such as a single-celled creature. tree →

In the lessons

Used in history of science: Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in the 1670s called the microbes he saw in his microscope «animalcules». Today scientists say «microorganisms» or «microbes».

Examples

Leeuwenhoek saw animalcules swimming in a drop of pond water. tree →
The old book describes animalcules in rainwater. tree →
Today we call animalcules microorganisms. tree →
The scientist was amazed by the tiny animalcules. tree →
Animalcules were the first microbes ever seen. tree →
Under the lens, the animalcules wriggled about. tree →

Note

Old-fashioned word. Pronounced an-ih-MAL-kyool. It means «little animal», though many such creatures are not animals at all (e.g. bacteria).

On Mova

Trees and pragmatics of «animalcule» in the school dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
«animalcule» in the school dictionary on Mova free.

This page in Markdown → https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/animalcule/