plankton English · revision 1652

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈplæŋ(k).tən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|de|Plankton]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) coined in 1887 by the German physiologist Viktor Hensen^(Etymonline) from [[grc|πλαγκτόν|tr=planktón]], neuter of ''planktós'' “wandering, drifting”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''plázesthai'' “to wander, drift”.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) Merriam-Webster relates it to Latin ''plangere'' “to strike”.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ All the floating or drifting organic life found at various depths in the sea or in fresh water (1891).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The meaning has stayed close to Hensen's coinage.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The adjective ''planktonic'' is recorded in the AHD and Merriam-Webster,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) and Wiktionary also uses the word for a single drifting organism, more often called a [[plankter]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1887 – German ''Plankton'' coined by Hensen.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1891 – in English.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The mass of small or microscopic [[organism|alt=organisms]], such as [[alga|alt=algae]] and [[protozoan|alt=protozoans]], that float or drift in fresh or salt water and serve as food for fish and larger animals.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[planktonic]]

+ * [[phytoplankton]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[plankter]]

+ * [[plaint]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}