diatom

noun

microscopic unicellular marine or freshwater colonial alga having cell walls impregnated with silica

Roots

diadia- · Greek · through temno-tom · Greek · cut

Synonyms & related words for diatom

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Words related to diatom

Explore words related to diatom — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include diatomist, diatomaceous, frustule, desmid, dinoflagellate, coccolith, phytoplankton, microplankton. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Where does diatom come from?

The word diatom breaks down into 2 roots of Greek origin: dia-, from Greek dia (“through”); and -tom, from Greek temno (“cut”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.