ˈplastə̇d noun
also plas·tide “, -ˌstīd
( -s )
Etymology: International Scientific Vocabulary, from Greek plastides, plural of plastis, feminine of plastēs sculptor, molder, from plastos formed, molded; originally formed as German plastiden, plural — more at plastic
: any of various small bodies of specialized protoplasm lying in the cytoplasm of cells (as those of plants and some protozoans), serving in many cases as organs or centers of special metabolic activities, and now generally regarded as persistent cell constituents multiplying by self-division — see chloroplast , chromoplast , leucoplast
• plas·tid·i·al (ˈ)pla|stidēəl adjective