eukaryoticadj.

1957 E. C. Dougherty in Jrnl. Protozool. 4 Suppl. 14/1 For the moneran nucleus I propose prokaryon.., and for that of higher organisms, eukaryon... From these derive..the nouns prokaryosis and eukaryosis and their corresponding adjectives, prokaryotic and eukaryotic.., denoting, respectively, ‘the condition of possessing prokarya or eukarya’.

1969 New Scientist 14 Aug. 327/1 The presence of free oxygen..was presumably followed by the evolution of the eucaryotic cell, with nuclear wall, well-defined chromosomes, mitotic cell division, and the capacity for sexual reproduction and genetic recombination as the usual mode of replication.

1973 R. G. Krueger et al. Introd. Microbiol. ii. 18/1 As our knowledge of microorganisms has progressed the differences between the procaryotic bacteria and blue-green algae and eucaryotic organisms including..algae, fungi, and protozoa..have become more apparent.

1977 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 27 Oct. 18/3 Eukaryotic DNA is the DNA of organisms, such as animals and higher plants, in which genetic material is marshaled and structurally organized in the form of chromosomes, the nucleic acid being combined with a basic protein to form a salt-like compound.

1982 K. Arms & P. S. Camp Biol. (ed. 2) iv. 51 Prokaryotic cells are simple in structure, and for this reason are believed to be evolutionarily more primitive than eukaryotic cells.