lamella

[ luh-mel-uh ]

noun

, plural la·mel·lae [l, uh, -, mel, -ee], la·mel·las.

1. a thin plate, scale, membrane, or layer, as of bone, tissue, or cell walls.
2. Botany.
   1. an erect scale or blade inserted at the junction of the claw and limb in some corollas and forming a part of their corona or crown.
   2. (in mosses) a thin sheet of cells standing up along the midrib of a leaf.
3. Mycology. gill ¹( def 2 ).
4. Building Trades. a member of wood, metal, or reinforced concrete, joined in a crisscross pattern with other lamellae to form a vault.
5. Ophthalmology. a small disk of gelatin and glycerin mixed with a medicinal substance, used as a medicament for the eyes.

lamella

/ ˌlæməˈlɒsɪtɪ; -lɪt; -lɪt; ləˈmɛləʊs; ˈlæmɪˌleɪt; ˈlæmɪˌləʊs; ləˈmɛlə; ləˈmɛleɪt /

noun

1. a thin layer, plate, or membrane, esp any of the calcified layers of which bone is formed
2. botany
   1. any of the spore-bearing gills of a mushroom
   2. any of the membranes in a chloroplast
   3. Also calledmiddle lamella a layer of pectin cementing together adjacent cells
3. one of a number of timber, metal, or concrete members connected along a pattern of intersecting diagonal lines to form a framed vaulted roof structure
4. any thin sheet of material or thin layer in a fluid

Derived Forms

• lamellosity, noun
• ˌlamelˈlation, noun
• laˈmellar, adjective
• ˈlamelˌlated, adjective
• laˈmellarly, adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of lamella¹

1670–80; < Latin lāmella, diminutive of lāmina lame ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of lamella¹

C17: New Latin, from Latin, diminutive of lāmina thin plate

Example Sentences

The head is also more or less connected by a thin plate of bone, the lamella, to another outgrowth, the processus longus.

From Project Gutenberg

The uppermost lamella of each ethmo-turbinal is larger than the others and more distinct.

From Project Gutenberg

A precisely similar arrangement is found in the scorpion gill-lamella, as seen in Fig. 69, A, taken from Macleod.

From Project Gutenberg

The white matter lies in the interior of the organ, and extends into the core of each lamella.

From Project Gutenberg

Between the epiblast and hypoblast a structureless lamella appears always to be interposed.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• layer
• slab
• slice