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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Plasma \Plas"ma\, noun [See {Plasm}.]
1. (Min.) A variety of quartz, of a color between grass green and leek green, which is found associated with common chalcedony. It was much esteemed by the ancients for making engraved ornaments.
2. (Biol.) The viscous material of an animal or vegetable cell, out of which the various tissues are formed by a process of differentiation; protoplasm.
3. Unorganized material; elementary matter.
4. (Med.) A mixture of starch and glycerin, used as a substitute for ointments. --U. S. Disp.
5. same as {blood plasma}. [PJC]
6. (physics) a state of matter in which charged particles such as electrons and atomi nuclei have sufficiently high energy to move freely, rather than be bound in atoms as in ordinary matter; it has some of the properties of a gas, but is a conductor of electricity.
Note: In a typical plasma, the number of positive and negative particles are approximately equal. Plasmas are found naturally in the atmosphere of stars, and can be created in special laboratory apparatus. [PJC]
{Blood plasma} (Physiol.), the colorless fluid of the blood, in which the red and white blood corpuscles are suspended. It may be obtained by centrifuation of blood to remove the blood cells. It is distinguished from {serum} in that plasma still has the fibrin of blood, and may be clotted, while in serum the fibrin has been removed.
{Muscle plasma} (Physiol.), the fundamental part of muscle fibers, a thick, viscid, albuminous fluid contained within the sarcolemma, which on the death of the muscle coagulates to a semisolid mass. [1913 Webster +PJC]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
plasma
noun
1: colorless watery fluid of blood and lymph containing no cells and in which erythrocytes and leukocytes and platelets are suspended [syn: {plasm}]
2: a green slightly translucent variety of chalcedony used as a gemstone
3: (physical chemistry) a fourth state of matter distinct from solid or liquid or gas and present in stars and fusion reactors; a gas becomes a plasma when it is heated until the atoms lose all their electrons, leaving a highly electrified collection of nuclei and free electrons; "particles in space exist in the form of a plasma"
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
52 Moby Thesaurus words for "plasma": Rh factor, Rh-negative, Rh-positive, Rh-type, Rhesus factor, antibody, antigen, arterial blood, blood, blood bank, blood cell, blood count, blood donor, blood donor center, blood group, blood grouping, blood picture, blood platelet, blood pressure, blood serum, blood substitute, bloodmobile, bloodstream, circulation, clinical dextran, dextran, erythrocyte, globulin, gore, grume, hematics, hematologist, hematology, hematoscope, hematoscopy, hemocyte, hemoglobin, hemometer, humor, ichor, isoantibody, leukocyte, lifeblood, neutrophil, opsonin, phagocyte, plasma substitute, red corpuscle, serum, type O, venous blood, white corpuscle
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:
PLASMA PLAnner-like System Modelled on Actors. {Carl Hewitt}, 1975. The first {actor} language. Originally called Planner-73, and implemented in MacLisp. Lisp-like syntax, but with several kinds of parentheses and brackets. ["A PLASMA Primer", B. Smith et al, AI Lab Working Paper 92, MIT Oct 1975]. ["Viewing Control Structures as Patterns of Passing Messages", C. Hewitt, AI Lab Memo 410, MIT 1976].
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