WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Plas"ma
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [See Plasm.]
Definition : 1. (Min.)

Defn: A variety of quartz, of a color between grass green and leek green, which is found associated with common chalcedony. It was much esteemed by the ancients for making engraved ornaments.

2. (Biol.)

Defn: The viscous material of an animal or vegetable cell, out of which the various tissues are formed by a process of differentiation; protoplasm.

3. Unorganized material; elementary matter.

4. (Med.)

Defn: A mixture of starch and glycerin, used as a substitute for ointments. U. S. Disp. Blood plasma (Physiol.), the colorless fluid of the blood, in which the red and white blood corpuscles are suspended. -- Muscle plasma (Physiol.), the fundamental part of muscle fibers, a thick, viscid, albuminous fluid contained within the sarcolemma, which on the death of the muscle coagulates to a semisolid mass.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913