English Online Dictionary. What means cell? What does cell mean?
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sɛl/
- Homophones: cel, sell
- Rhymes: -ɛl
Etymology 1
From Middle English celle, selle, from Old English cell (attested in inflected forms), from Latin cella (“chamber, small room, compartment”), later reinforced by Old French cel, sele, Old French cele. ultimately from Proto-Italic *kelnā, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱelneh₂, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover”). Doublet of cella and hall.
Noun
cell (plural cells)
- A single-room dwelling for a hermit. [from 10th c.]
- (now historical) A small monastery or nunnery dependent on a larger religious establishment. [from 11th c.]
- A small room in a monastery or nunnery accommodating one person. [from 14th c.]
- A room in a prison or jail for one or more inmates. [from 18th c.]
- Synonym: prison cell
- Each of the small hexagonal compartments in a honeycomb. [from 14th c.]
- (biology, now chiefly botany) Any of various chambers in a tissue or organism having specific functions. [from 14th c.]
- (entomology) The discal cell of the wing of a lepidopteran insect.
- (obsolete) Specifically, any of the supposed compartments of the brain, formerly thought to be the source of specific mental capacities, knowledge, or memories. [14th–19th c.]
- A section or compartment of a larger structure. [from 16th c.]
- (obsolete, chiefly literary) Any small dwelling; a remote nook, a den. [16th–19th c.]
- A device which stores electrical power; used either singly or together in batteries; the basic unit of a battery. [from 19th c.]
- (biology) The basic unit of a living organism, consisting of a quantity of protoplasm surrounded by a cell membrane, which is able to synthesize proteins and replicate itself. [from 19th c.]
- (meteorology) A small thunderstorm, caused by convection, that forms ahead of a storm front. [from 20th c.]
- (cellular automata) The minimal unit of a cellular automaton that can change state and has an associated behavior. [from 20th c.]
- (card games) In FreeCell-type games, a space where one card can be placed.
- A small group of people forming part of a larger organization, often an outlawed one. [from 20th c.]
- (communication) A short, fixed-length packet, as in asynchronous transfer mode. [from 20th c.]
- (communication) A region of radio reception that is a part of a larger radio network.
- (geometry) A three-dimensional facet of a polytope.
- (statistics) The unit in a statistical array (a spreadsheet, for example) where a row and a column intersect.
- (architecture) The space between the ribs of a vaulted roof.
- (architecture) A cella.
- (entomology) An area of an insect wing bounded by veins.
Usage notes
In the sense of an electrical device, "cell" is the technically correct name for a single unit of battery-type power storage, whereas a battery is a device comprising multiple of them, though it is often used for simple cells.
Quotations
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:cell.
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:cell
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Related terms
- cellar
- cellular
- cellule
Translations
Verb
cell (third-person singular simple present cells, present participle celling, simple past and past participle celled)
- (transitive) To place or enclose in a cell.
Etymology 2
Ellipsis of cell phone, itself a clipping of cellular phone, from cellular + phone.
Noun
cell (plural cells)
- (US, New Zealand, Australia, Philippines, informal) A cellular phone.
Usage notes
- Widely used attributively.
Translations
Further reading
- “cell”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “cell”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
- “cell”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
- Cell in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
Dutch
Etymology
Clipping of cellulair or borrowed directly from English cell.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sɛl/
- Hyphenation: cell
Noun
cell m (plural cells, diminutive celltje n)
- (Suriname, colloquial) cellular phone, mobile phone
- Synonyms: (Belgium) gsm, (Netherlands) mobiel
Derived terms
French
Etymology
Clipping of cellulaire; influenced by North American English cell
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sɛl/
Noun
cell m (plural cells)
- (Quebec, colloquial) cellular phone, mobile phone; clipping of téléphone cellulaire.
- Synonyms: portable, téléphone portable, téléphone cellulaire, cellulaire, téléphone mobile, mobile
Middle English
Noun
cell
- Alternative form of celle
Old Irish
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin cella.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kʲel͈/
Noun
cell f
- church
Inflection
Descendants
- Irish: cill
- Manx: keeill
- Scottish Gaelic: cill
Mutation
References
- Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “cell”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
Swedish
Etymology
From Latin cella
Pronunciation
Noun
cell c
- cell; a room in a prison.
- Cell; a room in a monastery for sleeping one person.
- Cell; a small group of people forming part of a larger organization.
- (biology) Cell; the basic unit of a living organism.
- (biology) Cell; a cavity in a structure such as a honeycomb.
- (computing) Cell; a minimal unit of a cellular automaton.
Declension
Derived terms
Related terms
- cellulas
- cellulit
- celluloid
- cellulosa
- cellulär
References
- cell in Svensk ordbok (SO)
- cell in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
- cell in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
Welsh
Etymology
From Middle Welsh kell, from Proto-Brythonic *kell, from Latin cella.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kɛɬ/
Noun
cell f (plural celloedd, diminutive cellan)
- cell