protozoic

[Mod. Lat. protozo (a); Eng. adj. suff. ic.] 1. Geol.: Of or belonging to the strata in which, or to the time when, life first appeared. "The protozoic , or first era of life."-Murchison: Siluria (ed. 1854), p. 11. 2. Zool .: Of or belonging to the Protozoa (q.v.). prō-to-zō-ōn, s. [ Pref.proto- , and Gr.zõon =an animal; zō =to live.] Any individual of the Protozoa (q. v.).