| Diatom 1. (n.) One of the Diatomaceae, a family of minute unicellular Algae having a siliceous covering of great delicacy, each individual multiplying by spontaneous division. By some authors diatoms are called Bacillariae, but this word is not in general use. 2. (n.) A particle or atom endowed with the vital principle. Thesaurus Entries Ectocarpales, Iceland moss, Irish moss, Phaeophyceae, autophyte, bean, bracken, brown algae, climber, conferva, confervoid, creeper, diatom, dulse, fern, fruits and vegetables, fucoid, fucus, fungi, fungus, grapevine, green algae, gulfweed, herb, heterophyte, ivy, kelp, legume, lentil, liana, lichen, liverwort, mold, molds, moss, mushroom, parasite, parasitic plant, pea, perthophyte, phytoplankton, plankton, planktonic algae, plant families, pond scum, puffball, pulse, red algae, reindeer moss, rockweed, rust, saprophyte, sargasso, sargassum, scum, sea lentil, sea moss, sea wrack, seaweed, smut, succulent, thallogens, toadstool, vetch, vine, wort, wrack |