Etymology

protist

P3R1O1T1I1S1T1

Today it means: Any of the eukaryotic, usually unicellular organisms—including protozoans, slime molds and some algae—historically grouped into the kingdom Protista (or Protoctista), now distributed over several clades; any eukaryote that is not a plant, animal or fungus. Full definition →

First used to 1959translingual Protista ← Ancient Greek πρώτιστος
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromπρώτιστος
  2. translingual · borrowed fromProtista
  3. English todayprotist

From translingual Protista, from Ancient Greek πρώτιστος (prṓtistos).

First known use, by meaning

  • to 1959 Any single-celled eukaryote, prokaryote or sponge .
  • 1959–1969 Any single-celled eukaryote or prokaryote .
  • since 1969 Any single-celled eukaryote .

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.