bathybius Meaning, Definition & Usage

Ba*thyb"i*us noun
Etymology
NL., fr. Gr. deep + life
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) A name given by Prof. Huxley to a gelatinous substance found in mud dredged from the Atlantic and preserved in alcohol. He supposed that it was free living protoplasm, covering a large part of the ocean bed. It is now known that the substance is of chemical, not of organic, origin.

Webster 1913