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# animalcule

noun (an animalcule, animalcules — old-fashioned)

«animalcule» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

(old science) An animalcule is a tiny living thing that can only be seen with a microscope, such as a single-celled creature. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/animalcule/#m1)

### In the lessons

Used in history of science: Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in the 1670s called the microbes he saw in his microscope «animalcules». Today scientists say «microorganisms» or «microbes».

### Examples

- Leeuwenhoek saw animalcules swimming in a drop of pond water. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/animalcule/#x1)
- The old book describes animalcules in rainwater. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/animalcule/#x2)
- Today we call animalcules microorganisms. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/animalcule/#x3)
- The scientist was amazed by the tiny animalcules. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/animalcule/#x4)
- Animalcules were the first microbes ever seen. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/animalcule/#x5)
- Under the lens, the animalcules wriggled about. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/animalcule/#x6)

### Note

Old-fashioned word. Pronounced an-ih-MAL-kyool. It means «little animal», though many such creatures are not animals at all (e.g. bacteria).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «animalcule» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/animalcule/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«animalcule» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/animalcule.html) on Mova free.