hypnocyst Meaning, Definition & Usage

Hyp"no*cyst noun
Etymology
Gr. sleep + E. cyst.
Definitions
  1. (Biol.) A cyst in which some unicellular organisms temporarily inclose themselves, from which they emerge unchanged, after a period of drought or deficiency of food. In some instances, a process of spore formation seems to occur within such cysts.

Webster 1913