WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
pro•to•ne•ma
(prō′tə nē′mə),USA pronunciation n., pl. -ma•ta (-mə tə).USA pronunciation [Bot.]
pro′to•ne′mal, adj.
- Botanya primary, usually filamentous structure produced by the germination of the spore in mosses and certain related plants, and from which the leafy plant which bears the sexual organs arises as a lateral or terminal shoot.
- Greek prōto- proto- + nêma thread
- Neo-Latin
- 1855–60