desmid

noun

des·​mid ˈdez-məd 

: any of numerous unicellular or colonial green algae (order Zygnematales, especially family Desmidiaceae)

Illustration of desmid

Word History

Etymology

from the stem of New Latin Desmidiaceae, family name (as if ending in -id entry 1), from Desmidium, genus name (from Greek desmós "something that ties or attaches, (in plural) bonds, chain" —from déō, deîn "to bind, tie" + -smos, noun suffix— + -idion, diminutive suffix) + -aceae -aceae — more at diadem

Note: The taxonomic literature credits the description of the genus Desmidium to the English botanist John Ralfs (1807-90), in The British Desmidieæ (London, 1848), p. 61. Ralfs took the name Desmidium swartzii from an earlier description by the Swedish clergyman and botanist Carl Adolph Agardh (1785-1859), in Systema algarum (Lund, 1824), p. 9.

First Known Use

1862, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

desmid

noun

des·​mid ˈdez-məd 

: any of numerous single-celled or colonial green algae