noun
- Plural of animalcule; tiny animals or organisms, especially microscopic ones visible only under a microscope.
Usage: Chiefly historical or scientific; often refers to protozoa and other single-celled organisms; Singular form: animalcule
Examples
- Early naturalists used primitive microscopes to observe animalcules in pond water.
- The scientist discovered numerous animalcules swimming through the sample.
- Leeuwenhoek's observations of animalcules helped establish the field of microbiology.
- These animalcules are too small to see with the naked eye.
- The water contained countless animalcules of various shapes and sizes.