Etymograph

English

plasmodium

Plasmodium comes from Latin plasmō ‘to form, mould, fashion’, from Ancient Greek πλάσμα ‘something formed’, and ultimately from πλάσσω ‘to form, mold’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπλάσσω1‘to form, mold’earlier origin unknown
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπλάσμα2‘something formed’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplasmō3as plasma‘to form, mould, fashion’
  4. Germanc. 1650–presentPlasmodium3
  5. Englishtodayplasmodium3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πλάσμα
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin plasmo
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English plasmodium

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπλάσσωWiktionary, Ancient Greek πλάσμα‘to form, mold’earlier origin unknown
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπλάσμαWiktionary, Latin plasmo‘something formed’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplasmōWiktionary, English plasmodiumas plasma‘to form, mould, fashion’
  4. Germanc. 1650–presentPlasmodiumWiktionary, English plasmodium
  5. EnglishtodayplasmodiumWiktionary, English plasmodium

Linked words

through Ancient Greek πλάσσω ‘to form, mold’

plastic, hyperplasia, plastique, 13 more

Today it means

noun A mass of cytoplasm, containing many nuclei, created by the aggregation of amoeboid cells of slime molds during their vegetative phase.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “plasmodium”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek πλάσμα, Latin plasmo. 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 / plasmodium

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