alga

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: al=ga

CIDE DICTIONARY

alga, n. [L., seaweed.].

 A kind of seaweed; pl. the class of cellular cryptogamic plants which includes the black, red, and green seaweeds, as kelp, dulse, sea lettuce, also marine and fresh water confervæ, etc. The algae are primitive chlorophyll-containing mainly aquatic eukaryotic organisms lacking true stems and roots and leaves.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

alga, n. (pl. algae) (usu. in pl.) a non-flowering stemless water-plant, esp. seaweed and phytoplankton.

Derivative

algal adj. algoid adj.

Etymology

L