protoreceptor

P3R1O1T1O1R1E1C3E1P3T1O1R1

noun

A nerve ending or similar group of specialist cells that are sensitive to light.

OriginEnglish receptor ← Ancient Greek πρωτο- (prōto-) ← Proto-Indo-European *pró →
Scrabble 19
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounprotoreceptor (plural protoreceptors)

plural protoreceptors

  1. biologyA nerve ending or similar group of specialist cells that are sensitive to light.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-der.?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*pér
  3. Proto-Indo-European*pró
  4. Ancient Greekπρό (pró)
  5. Ancient Greekπρῶτος (prôtos)
  6. Ancient Greekπρωτο- (prōto-)
  7. Englishproto-
  8. Englishreceptor
  9. Englishprotoreceptor

From proto- + receptor.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

protoreceptor. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/protoreceptor

MLA

“protoreceptor.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/protoreceptor. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “protoreceptor,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/protoreceptor.

Source: protoreceptor on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.