Webster's English Dictionary

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cyst

cyst \'sist\ n [NL cystis, fr. Gk kystis bladder, pouch] 1: a closed sac 
   having a distinct membrane and developing abnormally in a c avity or 
   structure of the body 2: a body resembling a cyst : as  2a: a resting spore 
   of many algae  2b: an air vesicle (as of a rockweed)  2c: a capsule formed 
   about a minute organism going into a resting or spore  stage; also : this 
   capsule with its contents 2d: a resistant cover about a parasite produced 
   by the parasite or the host