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Animalcule (Latin for 'little animal'; from animal and -culum) is an archaic term for microscopic organisms that included bacteria, protozoans, and very small animals. The word was invented by 17th-century Dutch scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek to refer to the microorganisms he observed in rainwater.

Some better-known types of animalcule include:

Actinophrys, and other heliozoa, termed sun animalcules.
Amoeba, termed Proteus animalcules.
Noctiluca scintillans, commonly termed the sea sparkles.
Paramecium, termed slipper animalcules.
Rotifers, termed wheel animalcules.
Stentor, termed trumpet animalcules.
Vorticella, and other peritrichs, termed bell animalcules.

The concept seems to have been proposed at least as early as about 30 BC, as evidenced by this translation from Marcus Varro's Rerum Rusticarum Libri Tres:

Note also if there be any swampy ground, both for the reasons given above, and because certain minute animals, invisible to the eye, breed there, and, borne by the air, reach the inside of the body by way of the mouth and nose, and cause diseases which are difficult to be rid of.^[1]

The term was also used during the 17th century by Henry Oldenburg, the first Secretary of the Royal Society and founding editor of Philosophical Transactions, to translate the Dutch words used by van Leeuwenhoek to describe microorganisms that he discovered.^[2]

In Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance, the word appears in adjectival form in the 'Major-General's Song', in which Major-General Stanley sings, 'I know the scientific names of beings animalculous...' ^[3]

The term continued to be current at least as late as 1879.^[4]

A 1795 illustration of van Leeuwenhoek's animalcules by an unknown artist.

References[edit]

^ Storr-Best, Lloyd (1912). Varro on farming. M. Terenti Varronis Rerum rusticarum libri tres. London: G. Bell and Sons. p. 39.
^ Anderson, Douglas. "Animalcules". Lens on Leeuwenhoek. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
^ "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General". Paragraph #2.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^ Cutting, Hiram Adolphus (1879). "An address upon farm pests, including insects, Fungi, and animalcules". Internet Archive. Retrieved 5 October 2021.

[1] Storr-Best, Lloyd (1912). Varro on farming. M. Terenti Varronis Rerum rusticarum libri tres. London: G. Bell and Sons. p. 39.

[2] Anderson, Douglas. "Animalcules". Lens on Leeuwenhoek. Retrieved 9 October 2019.

[3] "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General". Paragraph #2.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

[Cutting-1879-4] Cutting, Hiram Adolphus (1879). "An address upon farm pests, including insects, Fungi, and animalcules". Internet Archive. Retrieved 5 October 2021.

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+{{Short description|Antiquated term for microorganisms}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
+{{Use British English|date=June 2020}}
 {{refimprove|date=December 2009}}
-'''Animalcule''' ("little animal", from Latin ''animal'' + the diminutive suffix ''-culum'') is an older term for a microscopic [[animal]] or [[protozoa]]n. The concept appears to have been understood at least as early as c. 30 BC, as evidenced by the following translation from [[Marcus Varro]]'s Rerum Rusticarum Libri Tres.
+'''Animalcule''' ({{langnf|la||little animal}}; {{etymology||{{wiktlat|animal}}|||{{wiktlat|-culum}}|}}) is an [[archaism|archaic term]] for [[microscopic scale|microscopic]] [[organism]]s that included [[bacteria]], [[protozoa]]ns, and very small [[animal]]s. The word was invented by 17th-century Dutch scientist [[Antonie van Leeuwenhoek]] to refer to the [[microorganism]]s he observed in [[rainwater]].
-"Like precautions must be taken against swampy places for the same reasons and particularly because as they dry, swamps breed certain animalculae which cannot be seen with the eyes and which we breathe through the nose and mouth into the body where they cause grave maladies."
-Some better-known animalcules include:
+Some better-known types of animalcule include:
+* ''[[Actinophryid|Actinophrys]]'', and other [[heliozoa]], termed sun animalcules.
+* ''[[Amoeba proteus|Amoeba]]'', termed ''Proteus'' animalcules.
+* ''[[Noctiluca scintillans]]'', commonly termed the sea sparkles.
+* ''[[Paramecium]]'', termed slipper animalcules.
+* ''[[Rotifer]]s'', termed wheel animalcules.
+* ''[[Stentor (genus)|Stentor]]'', termed trumpet animalcules.
+* ''[[Vorticella]]'', and other [[peritrich]]s, termed bell animalcules.
+The concept seems to have been proposed at least as early as about 30 BC, as evidenced by this translation from [[Marcus Varro]]'s ''Rerum Rusticarum Libri Tres'':
-* ''[[Actinophryid|Actinophrys]]'', and other [[heliozoa]], called sun animalcules
-* ''[[Amoeba proteus|Amoeba]]'', called ''Proteus animalcule''
-* ''[[Noctiluca scintillans]]'', commonly called the 'Sea Sparkles'
-* ''[[Paramecium]]'', called slipper animalcules
-* ''[[Rotifer]]s'', called wheel animalcules
-* ''[[Stentor (genus)|Stentor]]'', called trumpet animalcules
-* ''[[Vorticella]]'', and other [[peritrich]]s, called bell animalcules
+<blockquote>Note also if there be any swampy ground, both for the reasons given above, and because certain minute animals, invisible to the eye, breed there, and, borne by the air, reach the inside of the body by way of the mouth and nose, and cause diseases which are difficult to be rid of.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Storr-Best|first1=Lloyd|title=Varro on farming. M. Terenti Varronis Rerum rusticarum libri tres.|url=https://archive.org/details/varroonfarmingmt00varr|date=1912|publisher=G. Bell and Sons|location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/varroonfarmingmt00varr/page/39 39]}}</ref></blockquote>
-The term was also used by [[Anton van Leeuwenhoek]], the 17th-century [[Preformationism|preformationist]] and the discoverer of [[microorganism]]s, to describe them.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Buckley|first1=Don MSc|last2=Miller|first2=Zipporah MA(Ed)|last3=Padilla|first3=Michael J PhD|last4=Thornton|first4=Kathryn PhD |last5=Wysession |first5= Michael PhD |title=Indiana Interactive Science Grade 7 |date=2012|page=500}}</ref>
+The term was also used during the 17th century by [[Henry Oldenburg]], the first Secretary of the [[Royal Society]] and founding editor of ''[[Philosophical Transactions]]'', to translate the Dutch words used by van Leeuwenhoek to describe microorganisms that he discovered.<ref>{{cite web|first=Douglas|last=Anderson|title=Animalcules|url=https://lensonleeuwenhoek.net/content/animalcules|website=Lens on Leeuwenhoek|accessdate=9 October 2019}}</ref>
-The word appears in adjectival form in the [[Major-General's Song]], in which Major-General Stanley sings, "I know the [[binomial nomenclature|scientific names]] of beings animalculous..."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.naic.edu/~gibson/poems/gilbert1.html |title=I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General |others=Paragraph #2}}</ref>
+In Gilbert and Sullivan's ''[[The Pirates of Penzance]]'', the word appears in adjectival form in the '[[Major-General's Song]]', in which Major-General Stanley sings, 'I know the [[binomial nomenclature|scientific names]] of beings animalculous...' <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.naic.edu/~gibson/poems/gilbert1.html |title=I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General |others=Paragraph #2}}</ref>
+The term continued to be current at least as late as 1879.<ref name="Cutting-1879">{{cite web | title=An address upon farm pests, including insects, Fungi, and animalcules | last=Cutting | first=Hiram Adolphus | website=[[Internet Archive]] | url=http://archive.org/details/addressuponfarmp00cutt | date=1879 | access-date=2021-10-05}}</ref>
+{{center|
+A 1795 illustration of van Leeuwenhoek's animalcules by an unknown artist.<br />
+[[File:Animalcules observed by anton van leeuwenhoek c1795 1228575.jpg|center|A 1795 illustration of van Leeuwenhoek's animalcules by an unknown artist]]<br />
+}}
 ==See also==
+{{Wiktionary}}
 * [[Caminalcule]]
 * [[Infusoria]]
+* [[Microscopic discovery of microorganisms|Van Leeuwenhoek's microscopic discovery of microbial life]] (microorganisms)
-==References==
+== References ==
-<references/>
+<references />
 {{Antonie van Leeuwenhoek}}
 [[Category:Zoology]]
-[[Category:Microscopic organisms described by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek]]
+[[Category:Antonie van Leeuwenhoek]]
+[[Category:Biology and natural history in the Dutch Republic]]

v t e Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
General topics	Van Leeuwenhoek's microscopes Van Leeuwenhoek's microscopic experiments and discoveries Van Leeuwenhoek's microscopic discovery of microbial life Van Leeuwenhoek's letters to the Royal Society
Recognitions	Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Ziekenhuis Leeuwenhoek (crater) Leeuwenhoek Lecture Leeuwenhoek Medal Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (journal) Leeuwenhoeckia Levenhookia Leeuwenhoekiella
Category

Latest revision as of 23:41, 3 June 2023

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