microorganismn.
/ˌmʌɪkrəʊˈɔːɡənɪz(ə)m/, /ˌmʌɪkrəʊˈɔːɡn̩ɪz(ə)m/, U.S. /ˌmaɪkroʊˈɔrɡəˌnɪz(ə)m/ Biology.
An organism so small as to be visible only under a microscope; esp. a bacterium, fungus, or alga.
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the world > life > biology > organism > micro-organism > [noun]
microphyte1859
microzoon1859
microzoary1863
mycetes1874
spore1876
microbe1880
microorganism1880
microzooid1881
microbion1883
bug1885
macrospore1888
microzoan1890
microzoarian1890
zymophyte1890
germ1897
bot1937
probiotic1974
1880 W. MacCormac Antiseptic Surg. 105 The presence of micro-organisms in the atmosphere..is certain.
1897 R. Muir & J. Ritchie Man. Bacteriol. i. 2 Other general words, such as germ, microbe, micro-organism, are often used as synonymous with bacterium, though, strictly, they include the smallest organisms of the animal kingdom.
1928 F. B. Young My Brother Jonathan iii. x. 593 They were dealing with..an invasion of the blood-stream not only by the toxins but by the actual micro-organisms of the disease.
1948 G. D. H. Bell Cultivated Plants Farm iv. 24 A fertile soil in a good condition has..an active micro-organism population which brings about desirable chemical changes.
1953 R. W. Fairbrother Text-bk. Bacteriol. (ed. 7) i. 4 The relationship of micro-organisms to the processes of fermentation and putrefaction thus became definitely established.
1974 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 23 May 8/1 Yeasts and bacteria have been used experimentally in the United States to clean up oil spills by decomposing various elements in the oil. But it was too cold in Canada for the micro-organisms to grow.
1981 Cook's Mag. Jan. 60/1 If canned foods are underprocessed, some microorganisms will survive and grow during storage.
1993 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Sept. 132/2 Beneath the surface, a sinister cloud of microorganisms, the deadly ‘algae bloom’, threatens to kill the beauty above and below forever.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1880