any of an order (Foraminiferida) of marine protozoans with calcareous shells full of tiny holes through which slender filaments project: they form the main component of chalk and many deep-sea oozes
also called fo·ram·i·nif′eran
Origin of foraminifer; from Classical Latin foramen (gen. foraminis): see foramen and amp; -fer
Any of numerous chiefly marine protozoans of the order (or phylum) Foraminifera, characteristically having a calcareous shell with perforations through which numerous pseudopods protrude. The shells accumulate on the ocean floor as sediment.
Origin of foraminiferFrom New Latin Foraminifera, order name : Latin foramen, foramin-, an opening + Latin -fer, -fer.