Proteus Definition

prōtē-əs
protei
noun
Any of various gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria of the genus Proteus, certain species of which are associated with human enteritis and urinary tract infections.
American Heritage Medicine
A minor sea god and servant of Poseidon: he can change his form or appearance at will.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
  • genus Proteus
pronoun

(Greek mythology) A sea god who could change his shape at will.

Wiktionary

(astronomy) The sixth satellite of the planet Neptune.

Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Proteus

Noun

Singular:
proteus
Plural:
protei

Origin of Proteus

  • New Latin Prōteus genus name from Latin Proteus (the variability in the size of individual cells displayed by members of the genus being likened to the god's shape-shifting powers) Proteus

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Ancient Greek Πρωτεύς (Prōteus).

    From Wiktionary

  • Latin Prōteus from Greek

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

Proteus Sentence Examples

  • It is a very Proteus.

  • He is a beneficent and venerable old man of the sea, full of wisdom and skilled in prophecy, but, like Proteus, he will only reveal what he knows under compulsion.

  • Sometimes this principle has weight, and sometimes it has not; sometimes it is free fire and sometimes it is fire combined with the earthy element; sometimes it passes through the pores of vessels, sometimes these are impervious to it; it explains both causticity and non-causticity, transparency and opacity, colours and their absence; it is a veritable Proteus changing in form at each instant."

  • A, The larva of Echinorhynchus proteus from the body cavity of Phoxinus laevis, with the proboscis retracted and the whole still enclosed in a capsule.

  • After eight years' wandering in the east, he landed on the island of Pharos, where Proteus revealed to him the means of appeasing the gods and securing his return.

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Words Starting With

PPRPRO

Words Ending With

SUSEUS

Unscrambles

proteus

Words Starting With P and Ending With S

Starts With P & Ends With SStarts With PR & Ends With SStarts With P & Ends With US

Word Length

7 Letter Words7 Letter Words Starting With P7 Letter Words Ending With S