Found 2 items, similar to diatom.
English → English (WordNet) Definition: diatom diatom n : microscopic unicellular marine or freshwater colonial alga having cell walls impregnated with silica
English → English (gcide) Definition: Diatom Diatom \Di"a*tom\ (d[imac]`[.a]*t[o^]m), n. [Gr. dia`tomos cut in two. See Diatomous.] 1. (Bot.) One of the Diatomace[ae], a family of minute unicellular Alg[ae] having a siliceous covering of great delicacy, each individual multiplying by spontaneous division. By some authors diatoms are called Bacillari[ae], but this word is not in general use. [1913 Webster] 2. A particle or atom endowed with the vital principle. [1913 Webster] The individual is nothing. He is no more than the diatom, the bit of protoplasm. --Mrs. E. Lynn Linton. [1913 Webster]