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plasma

/ˈplæzmə/ noun

Latin root: plasma Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about plasma at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. The colorless watery fluid of the blood and lymph that contains no cells, but in which the blood cells (erythrocytes, leukocytes, and thrombocytes) are suspended.
  2. A green slightly translucent variety of chalcedony used as a gemstone.
  3. (physical chemistry) a fourth state of matter distinct from solid or liquid or gas and present in stars and fusion reactors; a gas becomes a plasma when it is heated until the atoms lose all their electrons, leaving a highly electrified collection of nuclei and free electrons.
    particles in space exist in the form of a plasma

Origin

From Late Latin plasma (“mold”), from Ancient Greek πλάσμα (plásma, “something formed”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)