<B>plasmodium, </B>noun, pl. <B>-dia.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a mass or sheet of naked protoplasm formed by the fusion, or by the aggregation, of a number of amebalike bodies, as in the slime molds. <DD><B> 2. </B>any one of a group of parasitic protozoans, including the organisms which cause malaria. </DL>
<A NAME="plasmogamy">
<B>plasmogamy, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the fusion of cytoplasm in a living cell. </DL>
<A NAME="plasmogen">
<B>plasmogen, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (used formerly in biology) formative protoplasm; the highest stage of protoplasm from which tissue and organs are formed. </DL>
<A NAME="plasmoid">
<B>plasmoid, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a tightly packed, luminous pellet of plasma ions, formed when plasma moves across a magnetic field. </DL>
<A NAME="plasmolysis">
<B>plasmolysis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Botany.) the contraction of protoplasm in a living cell, caused by the withdrawal of liquid when the cell is placed in a liquid of greater density than the cell sap. <BR> <I>Ex. Plasmolysis can be seen with the microscope if pieces of water plants are mounted in a 5 to 10 per cent solution of table salt (Fred W. Emerson).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="plasmolytic">
<B>plasmolytic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having to do with plasmolysis. <DD><B> 2. </B>showing plasmolysis. <DD><B> 3. </B>causing plasmolysis. </DL>
<A NAME="plasmolyze">
<B>plasmolyze, </B>transitive verb, intransitive verb, <B>-lyzed,</B> <B>-lyzing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to contract by plasmolysis. </DL>
<A NAME="plasmon">
<B>Plasmon, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Trademark.) an almost odorless and tasteless, flourlike food preparation obtained from milk, consisting essentially of the protein of milk. </DL>
<A NAME="plasmoquine">
<B>plasmoquine, </B>noun. <B>=pamaquine.</B></DL>
<A NAME="plasmosome">
<B>plasmosome, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Biology.) a true nucleolus, as distinguished from a karyosome. </DL>
<A NAME="plasome">
<B>plasome, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (formerly) one of the smallest theoretical units of living substance; pangen; biophore; gemmule. </DL>
<A NAME="plast">
<B>-plast,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (combining form.) a small body or structure, especially of living matter; particle or granule, as in <I>bioplast, chloroplast.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="plaster">
<B>plaster, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a soft, sticky mixture, consisting mainly of lime, sand, and water, that hardens as it dries. Plaster is used especially for walls and ceilings. <BR> <I>Ex. Ordinary plaster is very similar to mortar save that it usually contains hair or other fibers to help hold it in place (W. N. Jones).</I> (SYN) stucco. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=plasterof Paris.</B> <DD><B> 3. </B>a medical preparation, consisting of some substance spread on cloth that will stick to the body and protect cuts or relieve pain. <BR> <I>Ex. a mustard plaster.</I> (SYN) poultice. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) a healing or soothing means or measure. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to cover (a wall or ceiling) with plaster. <DD><B> 2. </B>to smear, bedaub, or fill in with plaster; apply plaster to. <DD><B> 3. </B>to use plaster of Paris on or in making. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) to spread with anything thickly. <BR> <I>Ex. His shoes were plastered with mud. Smee plastered his sitters with adulation as methodically as he covered his canvas (Thackeray).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>(Figurative.) to make smooth and flat. <BR> <I>Ex. He plastered his hair down.</I> (SYN) slick. <DD><B> 6. </B>to apply a plaster to. <DD><B> 7. </B>(Figurative.) to apply like a plaster. <BR> <I>Ex. to plaster posters on a wall.</I> <DD><B> 8. </B>(U.S. Slang.) to punish, injure, or attack violently; wreak havoc, ruin, or destruction upon. adj. <B>plasterlike.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="plasterboard">
<B>plasterboard, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a thin board made of a layer of plaster between layers of pressed felt, covered with paper and used for walls and partitions. </DL>
<A NAME="plastercast">
<B>plaster cast,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a mold, as of a piece of sculpture, made with plaster of Paris. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Medicine.) a mold made from gauze and plaster of Paris to hold a broken or dislocated bone in place. </DL>
<B>plasterer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who plasters walls or anything else. </DL>
<A NAME="plastering">
<B>plastering, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a covering of plaster, especially on walls. </DL>
<A NAME="plastermolding">
<B>plaster molding,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a casting process in which the metal is poured into a plaster mold. </DL>
<A NAME="plasterofparis">
<B>plaster of Paris,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a white, powdery substance which, when mixed with water, swells and hardens quickly. Plaster of Paris is made by calcining gypsum. It can be made into molds and casts by pouring, shaping, carving, and turning. <BR> <I>Ex. Plaster of Paris expands slightly when it sets--a requisite for any material that is to find use as a mold or a casting (Monroe M. Offner).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="plastersaint">
<B>plaster saint,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> lifeless embodiment of moral perfection. <BR> <I>Ex. Single men in barracks don't grow into plaster saints (Rudyard Kipling).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="plasterwork">
<B>plasterwork, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> work done with or in plaster, especially on walls and ceilings. </DL>
<A NAME="plastery">
<B>plastery, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> like plaster; resembling plaster. </DL>
<A NAME="plastic">
<B>plastic, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>any one of various substances that can be molded or shaped when softened, as by heat or pressure, and become hard when cooled. Glass and rubber are plastics. <DD><B> 2. </B>a synthetic organic compound made from coal, water, limestone, or other similar basic raw materials, especially by polymerization. Plastics are molded, laminated, and extruded into various forms, such as sheets, fibers, and bottles. Nylon, vinyl, Bakelite, polyethylene, and Lucite are plastics. <DD><B> 3. </B><B>=plastic explosive.</B> <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>made of plastic. <BR> <I>Ex. a plastic hose, a plastic bottle, a plastic dish.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>easily modeled or shaped. <BR> <I>Ex. Clay, wax, and plaster are plastic substances.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>molding or giving shape to material. <DD><B> 4. </B>having to do with or involving molding or modeling; that expresses itself in three dimensions. <BR> <I>Ex. Sculpture is a plastic art.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>(Figurative.) easily influenced; impressionable; pliable. <BR> <I>Ex. the plastic mind of a child.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>(Figurative.) not natural or real; synthetic; artificial. <BR> <I>Ex. Now that so many of the young seem to wear their hearts on their sleeves, it is hard to tell which ones are real and which ones are plastic (Harper's).</I> <DD><B> 7. </B>(Biology.) capable of forming, or being organized into, living tissue. <DD><B> 8. </B>(Physics.) (of a substance) able to be deformed in any direction and to retain its deformed condition permanently without rupture. <DD><B> 9. </B>(Archaic.) producing natural forms, especially living organisms; formative; procreative. adv. <B>plastically.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="plasticate">
<B>plasticate, </B>transitive verb, <B>-cated,</B> <B>-cating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to grind or knead (rubber) to a pulp, especially by means of a plasticator. </DL>
<A NAME="plasticator">
<B>plasticator, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a machine for plasticating rubber. </DL>
<A NAME="plasticdeformation">
<B>plastic deformation</B> or <B>flow,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Physics.) the alteration of the shape of a solid by the application of a sufficient and sustained stress. <BR> <I>Ex. Plastic deformation of solids is brought about when planes of atoms in the component crystals slip along adjacent planes, in a few directions favored by the crystalline atomic arrangement (Alan Holden).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="plasticexplosive">
<B>plastic explosive,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any of several puttylike explosives, such as RDX or PETN, that can be molded into any shape and fitted with a detonator to make a bomb. </DL>
<A NAME="plasticfoam">
<B>plastic foam,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a plastic having a soft, spongy texture, suitable for use in furniture cushions, mattresses, and upholstery. <BR> <I>Ex. Plastic foam is being used increasingly for insulating linings in clothing in addition to its cushioning application (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="plasticine">
<B>plasticine, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a composition that remains plastic for a long time, sometimes used by children and sculptors instead of modeling clay. </DL>
<B>plasticity, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>plastic quality. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) Yet it is this graphic weakness that gives his Hesiod etchings their strong plasticity and complicated charm (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the capability of being molded, formed, or modeled. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Physics.) the capability of being deformed permanently under externally applied forces without failure. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Chemistry.) the property of particles of being displaced without removal from the sphere of attraction. </DL>
<A NAME="plasticization">
<B>plasticization, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of plasticizing; a making or becoming plastic. <DD><B> 2. </B>the state of being plasticized. </DL>
<A NAME="plasticize">
<B>plasticize, </B>verb, <B>-cized,</B> <B>-cizing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> to make plastic. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to become plastic. </DL>
<A NAME="plasticizer">
<B>plasticizer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a chemical that causes a substance to become or remain soft, flexible, or viscous. </DL>
<A NAME="plasticmemory">
<B>plastic memory,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the tendency of certain plastics that have been molded into a distinct form to resume much the same form after they are melted and allowed to cool. </DL>
<A NAME="plasticmoney">
<B>plastic money,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> credit cards. <BR> <I>Ex. One advantage of using plastic money ... was the interest-free ride if monthly bills were paid on time (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="plasticoperation">
<B>plastic operation,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an operation involving plastic surgery. </DL>
