protist (protist)

and n. [ acters. II. n. Any member of the Protist a . Protist a (pro-tis'tä), n. pl . [ πρό , before, first. Cf. former1 and first1 .] One of the kingdoms of animated nature, which Haeckel proposed (1868) to include the Protozoa and the Protophyta , or the lowest animals and plants as collectively distinguished from other organisms. The propo sition to recognize this alleged "third kingdom" had been several times made before, and the unicellular plants and Protist a animals had been grouped together under various names, as Protoctist a of Hogg (1830), and Primal i a of Wilson and Ca in (1863). protistan (prō-tis'tan), a. and n. [ +-an.] 1. a. Of or pertaining to the Pro tista. II. n. A member of the Protist a ; any unicellular organism not definitely regarded as a plant or an animal. protistic (pro-tis'tik), a. [