paramecia

noun, plural par·a·me·ci·a [par-uh–mee-shee-uh, -shuh, -see-uh] /ˌpær əˈmi ʃi ə, -ʃə, -si ə/.

1. any ciliated freshwater protozoan of the genus Paramecium, having an oval body and a long, deep oral groove.

noun plural -cia (-sɪə)

1. any freshwater protozoan of the genus Paramecium, having an oval body covered with cilia and a ventral ciliated groove for feeding: phylum Ciliophora (ciliates)

n.1752, Modern Latin Paramecium, the genus name, coined from Greek paramekes “oblong, oval,” from para- “on one side” (see para- (1)) + mekos “length,” related to makros “long” (see macro-). n.

1. A genus of freshwater ciliate protozoans, characteristically slipper-shaped and covered with cilia, and commonly used for genetic research and other studies.

Plural paramecia parameciums

1. Any of various freshwater protozoans of the genus Paramecium that are usually oval in shape and that move by means of cilia. Although they consist of a single cell, paramecia are large enough to be visible to the naked eye. Like other ciliates, paramecia contain two nuclei, a macronucleus and a micronucleus. On the cellular surface is a groove that opens into a gullet, into which food particles are absorbed.