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Glite Dictionary
nucleoid

nucleoid

1 9.4
An area inside a bacterial cell where most DNA is found
  • noun
  • /ˈnjuːkliˌɔɪd/
  • Specialized
: nucleoide
  • Scientists study the nucleoid to understand how bacteria manage their genetic material.

Examples

  • The nucleoid is where the DNA is kept in a prokaryotic cell.

  • And the only other real structure you can see in this case is this nucleoid structure in the middle.

  • Unlike eukaryotic cells, prokaryotic cells contain a nucleoid instead of a nucleus.

Surface Forms

nucleoid singular
nucleoids plural

Morphology

nucleoid = nucleus (semi-transparent) = nucle + oid

Formed from 'nucleus' + the technical suffix '-oid' meaning 'resembling'; understandable to learners who know 'nucleus' and scientific suffixes but '-oid' is somewhat specialized.

Etymology

Nucleoid comes from nucleus, a Latin word meaning 'kernel' or 'little nut', and the ending -oid, meaning 'like' or 'in the shape of'. So a nucleoid is the part of a simple cell that is 'like a nucleus' because it holds the DNA but has no membrane, which explains the modern meaning.