n.
Pronunciation: ' plaz-m ə
Function: noun
Etymology: German, from Late Latin, something molded, from Greek, from plassein to mold ― more at PLASTER
Date: 1772
1 : a green faintly translucent quartz
2 [ New Latin, from Late Latin] a : the fluid part of blood, lymph, or milk as distinguished from suspended material especially : BLOOD PLASMA b : the juice that can be expressed from muscle
3 : PROTOPLASM
4 : a collection of charged particles (as in the atmospheres of stars or in a metal) containing about equal numbers of positive ions and electrons and exhibiting some properties of a gas but differing from a gas in being a good conductor of electricity and in being affected by a magnetic field
5 : a display (as a television screen) consisting of discrete cells of plasma sandwiched between two layers of glass and electrodes such that each cell emits light when it receives an electric current
– plas · mat · ic \ plaz- ' ma-tik \ adjective