animalcule, animalculum
(noun) microscopic organism such as an amoeba or paramecium
Source: WordNet® 3.1
animalcule (plural animalcules)
(obsolete) A small animal. [16th-19th c.]
A microscopic aquatic animal or protozoan. [from 17th c.]
(now, historical) A spermatozoon. [from 17th c.]
• animalculum
• eye animalcule
• globe animalcule
• rotifer or wheel animalcule
• paramecium or slipper animalcule
• stentor or trumpet animalcule
• peritrich or bell animalcule
• heliozoa or sun animalcule
• amoeba or proteus animalcule
Source: Wiktionary
An`i*mal"cule, n. Etym: [As if fr. a L. animalculum, dim. of animal.]
1. A small animal, as a fly, spider, etc. [Obs.] Ray.
2. (Zoöl.)
Definition: An animal, invisible, or nearly so, to the naked eye. See Infusoria.
Note: Many of the so-called animalcules have been shown to be plants, having locomotive powers something like those of animals. Among these are Volvox, the Desmidiacæ, and the siliceous Diatomaceæ. Spermatic animalcules. See Spermatozoa.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
22 April 2025
(adjective) made smooth and bright by or as if by rubbing; reflecting a sheen or glow; “bright silver candlesticks”; “a burnished brass knocker”; “she brushed her hair until it fell in lustrous auburn waves”; “rows of shining glasses”; “shiny black patents”
The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking as the modern beverage appeared in modern-day Yemen. In the middle of the 15th century in Sufi shrines where coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed for drinking. The Yemenis procured the coffee beans from the Ethiopian Highlands.
