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What does FUNGUS mean?

Definitions for FUNGUS
ˈfʌŋ gəs; ˈfʌn dʒaɪ, ˈfʌŋ gaɪfun·gus

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word FUNGUS.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. fungusnoun

    an organism of the kingdom Fungi lacking chlorophyll and feeding on organic matter; ranging from unicellular or multicellular organisms to spore-bearing syncytia

Wiktionary

  1. fungusnoun

    Any member of the kingdom Fungi; a eukaryotic organism typically having chitin cell walls but no chlorophyll or plastids. Fungi may be unicellular or multicellular.

  2. Etymology: From fungus. Compare Ancient Greek σπόγγος.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. FUNGUSnoun

    Strictly a mushroom: a word used to express such excrescences of flesh as grow out upon the lips of wounds, or any other excrescence from trees or plants not naturally belonging to them; as the agarick from the larchtree, and auriculæ Judæ from elder. John Quincy

    Etymology: Latin.

    The surgeon ought to vary the diet as the fibres lengthen too much, are too fluid, and produce funguses, or as they harden and produce callosities. John Arbuthnot, on Diet.

Wikipedia

  1. Fungus

    A fungus (PL: fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from the other eukaryotic kingdoms, which by one traditional classification include Plantae, Animalia, Protozoa, and Chromista. A characteristic that places fungi in a different kingdom from plants, bacteria, and some protists is chitin in their cell walls. Fungi, like animals, are heterotrophs; they acquire their food by absorbing dissolved molecules, typically by secreting digestive enzymes into their environment. Fungi do not photosynthesize. Growth is their means of mobility, except for spores (a few of which are flagellated), which may travel through the air or water. Fungi are the principal decomposers in ecological systems. These and other differences place fungi in a single group of related organisms, named the Eumycota (true fungi or Eumycetes), that share a common ancestor (i.e. they form a monophyletic group), an interpretation that is also strongly supported by molecular phylogenetics. This fungal group is distinct from the structurally similar myxomycetes (slime molds) and oomycetes (water molds). The discipline of biology devoted to the study of fungi is known as mycology (from the Greek μύκηςcode: ell promoted to code: el mykes, mushroom). In the past, mycology was regarded as a branch of botany, although it is now known fungi are genetically more closely related to animals than to plants. Abundant worldwide, most fungi are inconspicuous because of the small size of their structures, and their cryptic lifestyles in soil or on dead matter. Fungi include symbionts of plants, animals, or other fungi and also parasites. They may become noticeable when fruiting, either as mushrooms or as molds. Fungi perform an essential role in the decomposition of organic matter and have fundamental roles in nutrient cycling and exchange in the environment. They have long been used as a direct source of human food, in the form of mushrooms and truffles; as a leavening agent for bread; and in the fermentation of various food products, such as wine, beer, and soy sauce. Since the 1940s, fungi have been used for the production of antibiotics, and, more recently, various enzymes produced by fungi are used industrially and in detergents. Fungi are also used as biological pesticides to control weeds, plant diseases, and insect pests. Many species produce bioactive compounds called mycotoxins, such as alkaloids and polyketides, that are toxic to animals, including humans. The fruiting structures of a few species contain psychotropic compounds and are consumed recreationally or in traditional spiritual ceremonies. Fungi can break down manufactured materials and buildings, and become significant pathogens of humans and other animals. Losses of crops due to fungal diseases (e.g., rice blast disease) or food spoilage can have a large impact on human food supplies and local economies. The fungus kingdom encompasses an enormous diversity of taxa with varied ecologies, life cycle strategies, and morphologies ranging from unicellular aquatic chytrids to large mushrooms. However, little is known of the true biodiversity of the fungus kingdom, which has been estimated at 2.2 million to 3.8 million species. Of these, only about 148,000 have been described, with over 8,000 species known to be detrimental to plants and at least 300 that can be pathogenic to humans. Ever since the pioneering 18th and 19th century taxonomical works of Carl Linnaeus, Christiaan Hendrik Persoon, and Elias Magnus Fries, fungi have been classified according to their morphology (e.g., characteristics such as spore color or microscopic features) or physiology. Advances in molecular genetics have opened the way for DNA analysis to be incorporated into taxonomy, which has sometimes challenged the historical groupings based on morphology and other traits. Phylogenetic studies published in the first decade of the 21st century have helped reshape the classification within the fungi kingdom, which is divided into one subkingdom, seven phyla, and ten subphyla.

ChatGPT

  1. fungus

    A fungus is a group of eukaryotic organisms, which includes microorganisms such as yeast and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. They are characterized by the absence of chlorophyll, a rigid cell wall in some stage of the life cycle, and reproduction by spores. Fungi are saprophytic or parasitic and absorb nutrients from their environment. They play a crucial role in decomposition and nutrient cycling in ecosystems. Their study is known as mycology.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Fungusnoun

    any one of the Fungi, a large and very complex group of thallophytes of low organization, -- the molds, mildews, rusts, smuts, mushrooms, toadstools, puff balls, and the allies of each

  2. Fungusnoun

    a spongy, morbid growth or granulation in animal bodies, as the proud flesh of wounds

  3. Etymology: [L., a mushroom; perh. akin to a doubtful Gr. sponge, for ; if so, cf. E. sponge.]

Wikidata

  1. Fungus

    A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria. One major difference is that fungal cells have cell walls that contain chitin, unlike the cell walls of plants, which contain cellulose. These and other differences show that the fungi form a single group of related organisms, named the Eumycota, that share a common ancestor. This fungal group is distinct from the structurally similar myxomycetes and oomycetes. The discipline of biology devoted to the study of fungi is known as mycology. Mycology has often been regarded as a branch of botany, even though it is a separate kingdom in biological taxonomy. Genetic studies have shown that fungi are more closely related to animals than to plants. Abundant worldwide, most fungi are inconspicuous because of the small size of their structures, and their cryptic lifestyles in soil, on dead matter, and as symbionts of plants, animals, or other fungi. They may become noticeable when fruiting, either as mushrooms or molds. Fungi perform an essential role in the decomposition of organic matter and have fundamental roles in nutrient cycling and exchange. They have long been used as a direct source of food, such as mushrooms and truffles, as a leavening agent for bread, and in fermentation of various food products, such as wine, beer, and soy sauce. Since the 1940s, fungi have been used for the production of antibiotics, and, more recently, various enzymes produced by fungi are used industrially and in detergents. Fungi are also used as biological pesticides to control weeds, plant diseases and insect pests. Many species produce bioactive compounds called mycotoxins, such as alkaloids and polyketides, that are toxic to animals including humans. The fruiting structures of a few species contain psychotropic compounds and are consumed recreationally or in traditional spiritual ceremonies. Fungi can break down manufactured materials and buildings, and become significant pathogens of humans and other animals. Losses of crops due to fungal diseases or food spoilage can have a large impact on human food supplies and local economies.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Fungus

    fung′gus, n. one of the lowest of the great groups of cellular cryptogams, including mushrooms, toadstools, mould, &c.: proud-flesh formed on wounds:—pl. Fungi (fun′jī), or Funguses (fung′gus-ez).—adjs. Fung′al, Fungā′ceous, like a fungus; Fun′gic (′jik), Fun′giform, having the form of a fungus; Fungiv′orous, feeding on mushrooms; Fung′oid, resembling a mushroom.—ns. Fungol′ogist, a student of fungi; Fungol′ogy, the science of fungi; Fungos′ity, quality of being fungous.—adj. Fung′ous, of or like fungus: soft: spongy: growing suddenly: ephemeral. [L. fungus, a mushroom—Gr. sphonggos, sponggos, a sponge.]

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of FUNGUS in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of FUNGUS in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of FUNGUS in a Sentence

  1. Bruno David:

    We know for sure it is not a plant but we don't really if it's an animal or a fungus, it behaves very surprisingly for something that looks like a mushroom (...) it has the behavior of an animal, it is able to learn.

  2. Matthew Kasson.Read:

    When they fly around or walk on branches, they spread spores that way too, we call them flying saltshakers of death, because they basically spread the fungus the way salt would come out of a shaker that's tipped upside down.

  3. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche:

    Out of damp and gloomy days, out of solitude, out of loveless words directed at us, conclusions grow up in us like fungus one morning they are there, we know not how, and they gaze upon us, morose and gray. Woe to the thinker who is not the gardener but only the soil of the plants that grow in him

  4. Matt Kasson:

    They are zombies in the sense that the fungus is in control of their bodies.

  5. Dan Bebber:

    The disease is a fungus, it attacks the leaves of the banana plant, which means the plant can't make as many bananas.

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