foraminifer

== English == === Etymology === Borrowed from French foraminifère (“foraminifer, foraminifera”), from French Foraminifères, coined by the French naturalist Alcide d’Orbigny (1802–1857) in an 1826 article. By surface analysis, Latin forāmen (“apertures, holes”, stem foramin-) +‎ -fer (“bearing”). === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌfɒɹəˈmɪnɪfə/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˌfɔɹəˈmɪnəfɚ/ Hyphenation: for‧a‧min‧if‧er === Noun === foraminifer (plural foraminifers) Any of a large group of aquatic amoeboid protists of the subphylum Foraminifera, characterized by streaming granular ectoplasm that among other things is used for catching food, often with a calcareous shell with many holes through which pseudopodia protrude. Synonyms: foram, foraminifera, foraminiferan, foraminiferid, (both obsolete, now nonstandard) foraminiferon, foraminiferum ==== Usage notes ==== It has been suggested it is acceptable to use either foraminifer (plural foraminifers) or foraminifera (plural foraminifera or foraminiferas) as long as one form of the word and its plural(s) are used consistently throughout a text. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === foraminifera on Wikipedia.Wikipedia Foraminifera on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons Foraminifera on Wikispecies.Wikispecies “foraminifer”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. == Romanian == === Etymology === Borrowed from French foraminifère. === Noun === foraminifer n (plural foraminifere) foraminifer ==== Declension ====