Etymograph

English

plasmodesma

Plasmodesma comes from Ancient Greek πλάσμα ‘something formed’, and goes back to πλάσσω ‘to form, mold’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπλάσσω1‘to form, mold’earlier origin unknown
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπλάσμα2plásma‘something formed’
  3. Englishtodayplasmodesma2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πλάσμα
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English plasmodesma

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπλάσσωWiktionary, Ancient Greek πλάσμα‘to form, mold’earlier origin unknown
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπλάσμαWiktionary, English plasmodesmaplásma‘something formed’
  3. EnglishtodayplasmodesmaWiktionary, English plasmodesma

Linked words

through Ancient Greek πλάσσω ‘to form, mold’

plastic, hyperplasia, plastique, 13 more

Today it means

noun A microscopic channel traversing the cell walls of plant cells and some algal cells, enabling transport and communication between them.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “plasmodesma”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek πλάσμα. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Ancient Greek πλάσσω / plasmodesma

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