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dinoflagellate

dinoflagellate definition

dino·flag·el·late (dī′nō flaj′ə lit, -lāt′)

noun

any of a class (Dinophyceae) of single-celled algae (division Chromophycota), mainly marine and often with a cellulose shell: some species are luminescent, and some cause the red tides that are extremely toxic to marine life: also classified in a class (Dinoflagellata) of protozoans

Etymology: < ModL Dinoflagellata < Gr dinos, rotation (< IE base *deye-, to swing, whirl > OIr dīan, swift) + ModL flagellum (see flagellum) + -ata, L, neut. pl. of -atus: see -ate

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