diatom Definition
dia·tom (dī′e täm′, -təm)
noun
any of a class (Bacillariophyceae) of microscopic algae (division Chromophycota), one-celled or in colonies, whose cell walls consist of interlocking parts and valves and contain silica: diatoms are a source of food for all kinds of marine life
Etymology: ModL diatoma < Gr diatomos, cut in two < diatemnein, to cut through < dia-, through + temnein, to cut: see -tomy
diatom Related Forms
di′a·to·ma′·ceous (dī′ə tə mā′s̸həs, dī at′ə-) adjective
diatom Usage Examples
Converse of subject
dominate: The phytoplankton increase produced by the iron fertilization was dominated by diatoms.
Converse of object
- use: A multi basin study will be carried out using diatom, pigment and pollen analysis.
- find: On examination I found some nice clean diatoms, many of them unbroken.
- clean: The Center's digital image archive comprises some two hundred images of cleaned diatoms, generated by the site's authors.
- contain: Some years ago I examined a smear of metal polish under the microscope and found it contained many diatoms.
- know: Read Frithjof's fascinating Micscape article ' A second look at some well known test diatoms ' where this is discussed.
- show: One of the slides showed diatoms from Port Townsend, situated a bit north of Seattle, USA, on the Pacific coast.
Adjective modifier
- pennate: The earlier southern experiments showed a preference for pennate diatoms over flagellates.
- marine: Identification of effective levels of a specific active substance against a series of marine diatoms.
- large: The largest diatom on the picture measures about 200 microns in diameter.
- centric: In the South, diatoms are favored over flagellates, and in the north, centric diatoms over pennate.
- beautiful: We have 5 days of allocated science onboard in which to collect cores of deep sea sediments - made up of beautiful fossil diatoms!
Modifies a noun
- frustule: The dots which are fine markings on the diatom frustule are now clearly seen.
- assemblage: Prior to the onset of the 19 th Century, diatom assemblages suggest a little or no change in water acidity.
- slide: The Spencer will now be my standard for looking at prepared diatom slides.
- species: This provides strong evidence that climatic factors have influenced diatom species composition at this site over the last decade.
- specie: A novel model based on principal curves representing the life cycle related shape variation of a number of diatom species has been developed.
- analysis: Research projects typically involve interdisciplinary teams where we provide expertise in diatom analysis or the use of isotope ratios in diatoms.
Noun used with modifier
- freshwater: Hypothesis: The rate and scale of dispersal of freshwater diatom species is a function of their global abundance.
- test: Test diatoms - what you can expect to see even with modest objectives by Martin Mach.
Browse dictionary entries near diatom
- ‹ diathesis
- ‹ diathermy
- ‹ diathermic
- ‹ diathermancy
- ‹ diatessaron
- ‹ diastrophism
- ‹ diastole
- ‹ diaster
- ‹ diastema
- ‹ diastem
- diatomic ›
- diatomite ›
- diatonic ›
- diatribe ›
- diatropism ›
- Diaz, Porfirio ›
- diazepam ›
- diazine ›
- diazinon ›
- diazo ›

