diatom

Pronunciation: /ˈdaɪ.əˌtɔm/

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun microscopic unicellular marine or freshwater colonial alga having cell walls impregnated with silica

Etymology

From (deprecated) genus name Diatoma, from Ancient Greek διάτομος (diátomos, “cut through, cut in half”).

In classic literature

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
alga, phytoplankton

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