ALGA

 Dictionary entry overview: What does alga mean? 

• ALGA (noun)
  The noun ALGA has 1 sense:

1. primitive chlorophyll-containing mainly aquatic eukaryotic organisms lacking true stems and roots and leaves

  Familiarity information: ALGA used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ALGA (noun)

Meaning:

Primitive chlorophyll-containing mainly aquatic eukaryotic organisms lacking true stems and roots and leaves

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

alga; algae

Hypernyms ("alga" is a kind of...):

protoctist (any of the unicellular protists)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "alga"):

seaweed (plant growing in the sea, especially marine algae)

red algae (marine algae in which the chlorophyll is masked by a red or purplish pigment; source of agar and carrageenan)

chlorella (any alga of the genus Chlorella)

chlorophyte; green algae (algae that are clear green in color; often growing on wet ricks or damp wood or the surface of stagnant water)

euglenid; euglenoid; euglenophyte (marine and freshwater green or colorless flagellate organism)

brown algae (algae having the chlorophyll masked by brown and yellow pigments)

confervoid algae (algae resembling confervae especially in having branching filaments)

diatom (microscopic unicellular marine or freshwater colonial alga having cell walls impregnated with silica)

yellow-green algae (any alga of the division Chrysophyta with its chlorophyll masked by yellow pigment)

golden algae (algae having the pigments chlorophyll and carotene and xanthophyll)

cryptomonad; cryptophyte (common in fresh and salt water appearing along the shore as algal blooms)