protozoic, a.
(prəʊtəʊˈzəʊɪk)
[In sense 1, f. Gr. πρωτο- proto- + ζωή life + -ic; in sense 2, f. Protozo-a + -ic.]
1. Geol. and Palæont. Applied to those strata which contain the earliest remains or traces of living beings; also to fossils found in such strata.
| 1838 Sedgwick in Proc. Geol. Soc. II. 684 Class 1. Primary stratified Groups... Should organic remains appear unequivocally in any parts of this class, they may be described as the Protozoic System. 1841 J. Phillips Palæoz. Foss. Dev. & Cornw. 160 Mr. Murchison [after Sedgwick] called the part of the series to which his attention was most directed ‘Protozoic’, for which Professor Sedgwick [subsequently] proposed to substitute Palæozoic. 1854 Murchison Siluria i. (1867) 2 To develope the succession of deposits that belong to such protozoic zones. 1859 Page Handbk. Geol. Terms, Protozoic... Applied to the earlier fossiliferous epoch and strata; equivalent to Primordial. |
2. Zool. and Path. = protozoan a.
| 1864 Webster, Protozoic, of, or pertaining to, the protozoa. 1877 Huxley Anat. Inv. Anim. i. 47 A similar process takes place in sundry Protozoa and gives rise to a protozoic aggregate, which is strictly comparable to the Morula. 1896 Allbutt's Syst. Med. I. 211 Appearances characteristic of a protozoic life history. 1906 Q. Rev. Apr. 522 The protozoic origin of malaria. |