plasma

See also: Plasma, plasmá, and plasmă

English

Plasma in a plasma ball lamp.

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Hellenic *plátʰyō

Proto-Hellenic *pláťťō?

Ancient Greek πλάσσω (plássō)

Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥

Proto-Hellenic *-mə

Ancient Greek -μα (-ma)

Ancient Greek πλᾰ́σμᾰ (plắsmă)der.

Late Latin plasmader.

English plasma

From Late Latin plasma (“mold”), from Ancient Greek πλάσμα (plásma, “something formed”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈplæzmə/, enPR: plăz'mə

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æzmə

Noun

plasma (countable and uncountable, plural plasmas or plasmata)

2. (physics) A state of matter consisting of partially ionized gas and electrons.

   plasma arc cutter;   plasma cutter

   • 2020, Don Lincoln, The Large Hadron Collider, Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, page 198:

     Oxygen and hydrogen nuclei are intermixed with free electrons. The whole mix is electrically neutral. This is actually considered a new stage of matter called a plasma. You can see an example of an electrically produced plasma in a fluorescent light bulb or in a plasma television.

4. (hematology) A clear component of blood or lymph containing fibrin.

   blood plasma;   lymph plasma

6. (mineralogy) A variety of green quartz, used in ancient times for making engraved ornaments.
   • 1901, Rudyard Kipling, Kim:

     hair-pins of jade, ivory, and plasma

8. (medicine, dated) A mixture of starch and glycerin, used as a substitute for ointments.
9. (biology, archaic) Protoplasm.
11. (computer graphics, demoscene) A visual effect in which cycles of changing colours are warped in various ways to give the illusion of liquid organic movement.
    • 1999, Rage Matrix, “Coding plasma demos....HELP!”, in comp.programming (Usenet):

      Has anyone here written a plasma demo in C/C++ who would be willing to explain to me exactly how it works?

    • 2005, Tamás Polgár, Freax: The Brief History of the Demoscene, volume 1, page 126:

      However, it displayed some unique copper magic routines and plasma effects.

    • (Can we date this quote by Jonathan Weinel and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?), Explosions in the Mind (page 139)

      This creates the classic 'plasma' effect seen in many demoscene videos.

Derived terms

• antiplasma
• bean-shaped plasma
• bioplasma
• blood plasma
• burning nuclear plasma
• burning plasma
• convalescent plasma
• dusty plasma
• glasma
• haemoplasma
• hemoplasma
• human seminal plasma protein hypersensitivity
• hydroplasma
• hyperplasma
• laser-plasma accelerator
• lymphoplasma
• magnetoplasma
• microplasma
• mycoplasma
• nanoplasma
• nuclear plasma
• ovoplasma
• phytoplasma
• plasma acceleration
• plasma accelerator
• plasmablast
• plasma cell
• plasmacyte
• plasma display
• plasmadynamics
• plasmagenic
• plasma globe
• plasma lamp
• plasmalemma
• plasmaless
• plasmalike
• plasma membrane
• plasmapause
• plasmapheresis
• plasma physics
• plasmaphysics
• plasma rifle
• plasma screen
• plasmasonic
• plasmasphere
• plasma therapy
• plasmatron
• plasma wakefield acceleration
• plasma wakefield accelerator
• plasmid
• plasmin
• plasmogamy
• plasmogen
• plasmogenous
• plasmoid
• plasmon
• preplasma
• quark-gluon plasma
• subplasma
• superplasma

Related terms

• plasmic

Translations

high energy state of matter

• Albanian: plazmë (sq) f
• Arabic: بِلَزْمَا f (bilazmā)
• Armenian: պլազմա (hy) (plazma)
• Azerbaijani: plazma
• Basque: plasma (eu)
• Belarusian: пла́зма f (plázma)
• Bengali: প্লাজমা (bn) (plajoma)
• Bulgarian: пла́зма (bg) f (plázma)
• Cherokee: ᎠᏣᏅᏙ (atsanvdo)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 電漿 / 电浆 (din⁶ zoeng¹)

  Mandarin: 等離子體 / 等离子体 (zh) (děnglízǐtǐ)

• Czech: plazma (cs) f
• Danish: plasma c
• Dutch: plasma (nl) n
• Esperanto: plasmo
• Estonian: plasma (et)
• Finnish: plasma (fi)
• French: plasma (fr) m
• Georgian: პლაზმა (ṗlazma)
• German: Plasma (de) n
• Greek: πλάσμα (el) n (plásma)
• Hebrew: פְּלַזְמָה (he) f (plazma)
• Hindi: प्लाज़्मा m (plāzmā)
• Icelandic: rafgas (is) n
• Interlingua: plasma
• Irish: plasma m
• Italian: plasma (it) m
• Japanese: プラズマ (ja) (purazuma)
• Kazakh: плазма (plazma)
• Korean: 플라스마 (peullaseuma), 플라즈마 (ko) (peullajeuma)
• Kyrgyz: плазма (plazma)
• Latvian: plazma f
• Lithuanian: plazma f
• Macedonian: плазма f (plazma)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: плазм (plazm)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: plasma (no) n

• Persian: پلاسما (fa) (pelâsmâ)
• Polish: plazma (pl) f
• Portuguese: plasma (pt) m
• Romanian: plasmă (ro) f
• Russian: пла́зма (ru) f (plázma)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: пла̀зма f

  Latin: plàzma (sh) f

• Slovak: plazma f
• Slovene: plazma f
• Spanish: plasma (es) m
• Swahili: utegili
• Swedish: plasma (sv) c
• Tagalog: dinagipik, plasma
• Tajik: плазма (plazma)
• Tatar: плазма (plazma)
• Thai: พลาสมา (pláas-mâa)
• Turkish: plazma (tr)
• Turkmen: plazma
• Ukrainian: пла́зма (uk) f (plázma)
• Urdu: پْلازْمَہ m (plāzmā)
• Uyghur: پلازما (plazma)
• Uzbek: plazma (uz)
• Vietnamese: điện tương, plat-ma

component of blood

• Arabic: مُصَوِّرَة f (muṣawwira), بِلَزْمَا الدّم f (bilazma d-dam), بِلَزْمَا f (bilazmā)
• Basque: plasma (eu)
• Belarusian: пла́зма f (plázma)
• Bulgarian: пла́зма (bg) f (plázma)
• Catalan: plasma (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 血漿 / 血浆 (hyut³ zoeng¹)

  Hakka: 血漿 / 血浆 (hiet-chiông)

  Hokkien: 血漿 / 血浆 (hiat-chiong/hiat-chiuⁿ)

  Mandarin: 血漿 / 血浆 (zh) (xuèjiāng)

• Czech: plazma (cs) f
• Danish: plasma c
• Dutch: plasma (nl) n
• Erzya: верьнул (veŕnul)
• Estonian: plasma (et)
• Finnish: verineste (fi), veriplasma (fi), plasma (fi)
• French: plasma (fr) m
• German: Plasma (de) n
• Greek: πλάσμα (el) n (plásma)
• Hebrew: פְּלַזְמָה (he) f (plazma)
• Hindi: प्लाविका (plāvikā), रक्त प्लाज़्मा (rakt plāzmā)
• Icelandic: blóðvökvi (is) m
• Ido: plasmo (io)
• Interlingua: plasma
• Irish: plasma m, plasma fola m, fuilphlasma m
• Italian: plasma (it) m
• Japanese: 血漿 (ja) (けっしょう, kesshō)
• Korean: 혈장(血漿) (ko) (hyeoljang)
• Latvian: plazma f
• Lithuanian: plazma f
• Macedonian: плазма (plazma)
• Māori: wētoto
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: плазм (plazm)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: plasma (no) n

• Occitan: plasmà m
• Persian: پلاسما (fa) (pelâsmâ)
• Polish: osocze (pl) n, plazma (pl) f
• Portuguese: plasma (pt) m
• Romanian: plasmă (ro) f
• Russian: пла́зма (ru) f (plázma)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: пла̀зма f

  Latin: plàzma (sh) f

• Slovak: plazma f
• Slovene: plazma f
• Spanish: plasma (es) m
• Swedish: plasma (sv) c
• Tagalog: kaphay
• Thai: น้ำเลือด
• Ukrainian: пла́зма (uk) f (plázma)
• Vietnamese: huyết tương (vi) (血漿)

Verb

plasma (third-person singular simple present plasmas, present participle plasmaing, simple past and past participle plasmaed)

1. (science fiction, transitive) To transform something into plasma.

   Synonym: plasmify

Further reading

• David Barthelmy (1997–2026), “Plasma”, in Webmineral Mineralogy Database.
• “plasma”, in Mindat.org, Keswick, Va.: Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, 2000–2026.

Anagrams

• Malpas, Palmas, lampas, palmas

Catalan

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central) [ˈplaz.mə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia, Northwestern) [ˈplaz.ma]

Noun

plasma m (plural plasmes)

1. plasma

Etymology 2

Verb

plasma

1. inflection of plasmar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈplasma]
• Hyphenation: plas‧ma

Noun

plasma n

1. dated form of plazma

Declension

Declension of plasma (ma-stem neuter reducible)

	singular	plural
nominative	plasma	plasmata
genitive	plasmatu	plasmat
dative	plasmatu	plasmatům
accusative	plasma	plasmata
vocative	plasma	plasmata
locative	plasmatu	plasmatech
instrumental	plasmatem	plasmaty

Noun

plasma f

1. dated form of plazma

Declension

Declension of plasma (hard feminine reducible)

	singular	plural
nominative	plasma	plasmy
genitive	plasmy	plasem
dative	plasmě	plasmám
accusative	plasmu	plasmy
vocative	plasmo	plasmy
locative	plasmě	plasmách
instrumental	plasmou	plasmami

Further reading

• “plasma”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “plasma”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin plasma, from Ancient Greek πλάσμα (plásma). Influenced by German Plasma (“blood plasma, cytoplasm”) and English plasma (“ionised gas”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈplɑs.maː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: plas‧ma

Noun

plasma n (plural plasma's, no diminutive)

1. (physics) plasma, dense ionised gas
2. (biology, medicine) blood plasma

   Synonym: bloedplasma

3. (biology) cytoplasm

   Synonyms: celplasma, cytoplasma

4. (mineralogy) plasma, dark green type of quartz

Derived terms

• bloedplasma
• celplasma

Related terms

• cytoplasma
• plasmatisch
• plasma-tv

Descendants

• → Indonesian: plasma

Finnish

Etymology

Internationalism (see English plasma), ultimately from Ancient Greek πλάσμα (plásma).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈplɑsmɑ/, [ˈplɑ̝s̠mɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -ɑsmɑ
• Syllabification^(key): plas‧ma
• Hyphenation^(key): plas‧ma

Noun

plasma

1. (biology, physics, hematology) plasma

Declension

Inflection of plasma (Kotus type 9/kala, no gradation)
nominative		plasma	plasmat
genitive		plasman	plasmojen
partitive		plasmaa	plasmoja
illative		plasmaan	plasmoihin
		singular	plural
nominative		plasma	plasmat
accusative	nom.	plasma	plasmat
	gen.	plasman
genitive		plasman	plasmojen plasmain rare
partitive		plasmaa	plasmoja
inessive		plasmassa	plasmoissa
elative		plasmasta	plasmoista
illative		plasmaan	plasmoihin
adessive		plasmalla	plasmoilla
ablative		plasmalta	plasmoilta
allative		plasmalle	plasmoille
essive		plasmana	plasmoina
translative		plasmaksi	plasmoiksi
abessive		plasmatta	plasmoitta
instructive		—	plasmoin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of plasma (Kotus type 9/kala, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative plasmani plasmani accusative nom. plasmani plasmani gen. plasmani genitive plasmani plasmojeni plasmaini rare partitive plasmaani plasmojani inessive plasmassani plasmoissani elative plasmastani plasmoistani illative plasmaani plasmoihini adessive plasmallani plasmoillani ablative plasmaltani plasmoiltani allative plasmalleni plasmoilleni essive plasmanani plasmoinani translative plasmakseni plasmoikseni abessive plasmattani plasmoittani instructive — — comitative — plasmoineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative plasmasi plasmasi accusative nom. plasmasi plasmasi gen. plasmasi genitive plasmasi plasmojesi plasmaisi rare partitive plasmaasi plasmojasi inessive plasmassasi plasmoissasi elative plasmastasi plasmoistasi illative plasmaasi plasmoihisi adessive plasmallasi plasmoillasi ablative plasmaltasi plasmoiltasi allative plasmallesi plasmoillesi essive plasmanasi plasmoinasi translative plasmaksesi plasmoiksesi abessive plasmattasi plasmoittasi instructive — — comitative — plasmoinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative plasmamme plasmamme accusative nom. plasmamme plasmamme gen. plasmamme genitive plasmamme plasmojemme plasmaimme rare partitive plasmaamme plasmojamme inessive plasmassamme plasmoissamme elative plasmastamme plasmoistamme illative plasmaamme plasmoihimme adessive plasmallamme plasmoillamme ablative plasmaltamme plasmoiltamme allative plasmallemme plasmoillemme essive plasmanamme plasmoinamme translative plasmaksemme plasmoiksemme abessive plasmattamme plasmoittamme instructive — — comitative — plasmoinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative plasmanne plasmanne accusative nom. plasmanne plasmanne gen. plasmanne genitive plasmanne plasmojenne plasmainne rare partitive plasmaanne plasmojanne inessive plasmassanne plasmoissanne elative plasmastanne plasmoistanne illative plasmaanne plasmoihinne adessive plasmallanne plasmoillanne ablative plasmaltanne plasmoiltanne allative plasmallenne plasmoillenne essive plasmananne plasmoinanne translative plasmaksenne plasmoiksenne abessive plasmattanne plasmoittanne instructive — — comitative — plasmoinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative plasmansa plasmansa accusative nom. plasmansa plasmansa gen. plasmansa genitive plasmansa plasmojensa plasmainsa rare partitive plasmaansa plasmojaan plasmojansa inessive plasmassaan plasmassansa plasmoissaan plasmoissansa elative plasmastaan plasmastansa plasmoistaan plasmoistansa illative plasmaansa plasmoihinsa adessive plasmallaan plasmallansa plasmoillaan plasmoillansa ablative plasmaltaan plasmaltansa plasmoiltaan plasmoiltansa allative plasmalleen plasmallensa plasmoilleen plasmoillensa essive plasmanaan plasmanansa plasmoinaan plasmoinansa translative plasmakseen plasmaksensa plasmoikseen plasmoiksensa abessive plasmattaan plasmattansa plasmoittaan plasmoittansa instructive — — comitative — plasmoineen plasmoinensa

Derived terms

compounds

• ektoplasma
• endoplasma
• ituplasma
• plasmafysiikka
• plasmaleikkaus
• plasmankorvike
• plasmanäyttö
• plasmapallo
• plasmapyrstö
• plasmasolu
• plasmasuihkuhitsaus
• plasmatekniikka
• veriplasma
• vetyplasma

Further reading

• “plasma”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 3 July 2023

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /plas.ma/

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

Noun

plasma m (plural plasmas)

1. plasma (all senses)

Descendants

• → Turkish: plazma

Further reading

• “plasma”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈpʰlasma]

Noun

plasma n (genitive singular plasma, no plural)

1. (physics) plasma

Declension

Declension of plasma (sg-only neuter)

	singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	plasma	plasmað
accusative	plasma	plasmað
dative	plasma	plasmanu
genitive	plasma	plasmans

See also

• blóðvökvi (“blood plasma”)

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch plasma, from Latin plasma, from Ancient Greek πλάσμα (plásma).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈplas.ma]
• Rhymes: -ma, -a
• Hyphenation: plas‧ma

Noun

plasma (plural plasma-plasma)

1. plasma:
   1. (physics) a state of matter consisting of partially ionized gas and electrons
   2. (medicine, hematology) blood plasma, free of suspended cells, used in transfusions
2. (agriculture) farmers (planters) who are part of the agricultural business system (plantation) who are in charge of carrying out the production process and supplying their products to the factory (which acts as the nucleus), while the production costs and facilities are provided by the factory

Derived terms

• plasma darah
• plasma inti rakyat
• plasma lembaga
• plasma nutfah
• plasma protein

Further reading

• “plasma”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Irish

Noun

plasma m (genitive singular plasma, nominative plural plasmaí)

1. (physics, hematology) plasma

Declension

Declension of plasma (fourth declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative plasma plasmaí vocative a phlasma a phlasmaí genitive plasma plasmaí dative plasma plasmaí forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an plasma na plasmaí genitive an phlasma na bplasmaí dative leis an bplasma don phlasma leis na plasmaí

Derived terms

• plasma fola, fuilphlasma
• taispeáint phlasma

Mutation

Mutated forms of plasma

radical	lenition	eclipsis
plasma	phlasma	bplasma

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈplaz.ma/
• Rhymes: -azma
• Hyphenation: plà‧sma

Etymology 1

Noun

plasma m (plural plasmi)

1. (physics, biology) plasma

Related terms

• plasma sanguigno
• plasmatico
• schermo al plasma

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

plasma

1. inflection of plasmare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams

• spalma

Latin

Verb

plasmā

1. second-person singular present active imperative of plasmō

References

• “plasma”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• "plasma", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Ancient Greek πλάσμα (plásma).

Noun

plasma n (definite singular plasmaet, indefinite plural plasma or plasmaer, definite plural plasmaene)

1. (physics, biology) plasma

References

• “plasma” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Ancient Greek πλάσμα (plásma).

Noun

plasma n (definite singular plasmaet, indefinite plural plasma, definite plural plasmaa)

1. (physics, biology) plasma

References

• “plasma” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈplaz.mɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈplaz.mɐ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈplaʒ.mɐ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈplaʒ.mɐ/

• Hyphenation: plas‧ma

Etymology 1

Noun

plasma m (plural plasmas)

1. (biology) plasma
2. (physics) plasma
3. plasma TV

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

plasma

1. inflection of plasmar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “plasma”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “plasma”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈplasma/ [ˈplaz.ma]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -asma
• Syllabification: plas‧ma

Etymology 1

Borrowed from German Plasma, from Ancient Greek πλάσμα (plásma, “something formed”).

Noun

plasma m (plural plasmas)

1. (physics, biology) plasma

Etymology 2

Verb

plasma

1. inflection of plasmar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “plasma”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Swedish

Etymology

From Ancient Greek πλάσμα (plásma).

Noun

plasma n or c

2. (neuter or common, countable) plasma (high energy state of matter)
4. (common, uncountable) ellipsis of blodplasma (“blood plasma”)
6. (common, uncountable) ellipsis of cytoplasma (“cytoplasm”)

Declension

Declension of plasma (neuter)

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	plasma	plasmas
	definite	plasmat	plasmats
plural	indefinite	plasmer	plasmers
	definite	plasmerna	plasmernas

Declension of plasma (common)

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	plasma	plasmas
	definite	plasman	plasmans
plural	indefinite	plasmer	plasmers
	definite	plasmerna	plasmernas

References

• “plasma”, in Svenska Akademiens ordböcker [Dictionaries of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• Svensk MeSH

Welsh

Etymology

Borrowed from English plasma.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈplasma/

Noun

plasma m (plural plasmâu)

1. (physics, biology) plasma

See also

Trawsnewidiadau gwedd mater (layout · text)

i o	solid	hylif	nwy	plasma
solid		toddiad	sychdarthiad
hylif	rhewiad		anweddiad, tarthiad
nwy	dyddodiad	cyddwysiad		ïoneiddiad
plasma			ailgyfuniad

Mutation

Mutated forms of plasma

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
plasma	blasma	mhlasma	phlasma

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke, et al., editors (1950–present), “plasma”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies