protoplast \PROH-tuh-plast\,
noun:
1. Biology. a. the contents of a cell within the cell membrane, considered as a fundamental entity. b. the primordial living unit or cell.
2. a person or thing that is formed first; original; prototype.
3. the hypothetical first individual or one of the supposed first pair of a species or the like.
But whatever I am here, I am the protoplast—and that is a word you should mark well, little brother—the thing first formed by our parents as a copy to be followed afterwards.
-- Philip Baruth, "The Brothers Boswell," 2013
You look like a direct descendant of our good old legendary protoplast Piast. But, just to make the picture complete, tell us something about your family
-- Stefan Korboński, "Between the Hammer and the Anvil," 1981
Protoplast comes from the Late Latin word prōtoplastus which meant "the first man."
Dictionary.com
