any marine protozoan of the genus Globigerina, having a rounded shell with spiny processes: phylum Foraminifera (foraminifers)
2. globigerina ooze
Word origin
C19: from New Latin, from Latin globusglobe + gerere to carry, bear
globigerina in American English
(ɡlouˌbɪdʒəˈrainə, -ˌri-)
nounWord forms: plural-nas or -nae (-ni)
any marine foraminifer of the genus Globigerina, having a calcareous shell, occurring either near the surface of the sea or in the mud at the bottom
Word origin
[1840–50; ‹ NL, equiv. to L globi- globe (comb. form of globus) + -ger- (s. of gerere to carry) + -ina-ina]This word is first recorded in the period 1840–50. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: bypass, dope, flan, sensationalism, warmup