plankton

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈplæŋ(k).tən/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from German Plankton,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} coined in 1887 by the German physiologist Viktor Hensen^[4] from Ancient Greek πλαγκτόν (planktón), neuter of planktós “wandering, drifting”,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from plázesthai “to wander, drift”.^[3][4][5][6] Merriam-Webster relates it to Latin plangere “to strike”.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

All the floating or drifting organic life found at various depths in the sea or in fresh water (1891).^[7][3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

The meaning has stayed close to Hensen's coinage.^[7][4] The adjective planktonic is recorded in the AHD and Merriam-Webster,^[2][5] and Wiktionary also uses the word for a single drifting organism, more often called a plankter.^[1]

Timeline

• 1887 – German Plankton coined by Hensen.^[4]
• 1891 – in English.^[7][3][4][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The mass of small or microscopic organisms, such as algae and protozoans, that float or drift in fresh or salt water and serve as food for fish and larger animals.

Word family

• planktonic
• phytoplankton

Related words

• plankter
• plaint

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press