Main Entry: plas·ma

Pronunciation: \ˈplaz-mə\

Function: noun

Etymology: German, from Late Latin, something molded, from Greek, from plassein to mold — more at plaster

Date: 1772

1 : a green faintly translucent quartz
2 [New Latin, from Late Latin] a : the fluid part of blood, lymph, or milk as distinguished from suspended material; especially : blood plasma b : the juice that can be expressed from muscle
3 : protoplasm
4 : a collection of charged particles (as in the atmospheres of stars or in a metal) containing about equal numbers of positive ions and electrons and exhibiting some properties of a gas but differing from a gas in being a good conductor of electricity and in being affected by a magnetic field
5 : a display (as a television screen) consisting of discrete cells of plasma sandwiched between two layers of glass and electrodes such that each cell emits light when it receives an electric current

— plas·mat·ic \plaz-ˈma-tik\ adjective