PLASMODIUM

noun (plural plasmodia) Etymology: New Latin, from plasm- + -odium thing resembling, from Greek -ōdēs like Date: 1875 1. a motile multinucleate mass of protoplasm resulting from fusion of uninucleate amoeboid cells, syncytium 1, a sporozoan parasite (genus Plasmodium ) that is the causative agent of malaria