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Glite Dictionary
⚡ Electron wave 🧬 Old genetic idea
plasmon

plasmon

9.9
A part inside cells that early scientists thought carried inherited traits
  • noun
  • /ˈplæzmən/
  • Archaic
translation icon : plasmon
  • Early scientists believed the plasmon played a key role in inheritance.

Examples

  • Some textbooks from the early 20th century still mention the plasmon as a carrier of traits.

  • The concept of the plasmon is now considered outdated in modern biology.

  • What is a plasmon?

  • The plasmon is fascinating.

  • Early scientists believed that the plasmon was responsible for carrying traits in inheritance.

  • In the early 1900s, some researchers hypothesized that the plasmon influenced genetic characteristics.

  • Textbooks of the past often described the plasmon as a crucial component in the study of heredity.

Synonyms

gemmule
vsplasmon
  • Archaic
9.9

A tiny imagined particle Darwin thought carried inherited traits

is a general historical idea of a protoplasm part carrying hereditary traits

Surface Forms

plasmon singular
plasmons plural

Morphology

plasmon = plasm (opaque) = plasm + on

The addition of '-on' does not follow a standard pattern that conveys the specific historical meaning of 'plasmon'.

Etymology

Plasmon comes from the Greek plasma 'something formed' and the ending -on, as in electron, so early scientists used it to name a small 'formed' part of the cell. That is why the biological plasmon was thought to be a unit in protoplasm that carried hereditary or cytoplasmic traits.