ciliate

[ sil-ee-it, -eyt ]

noun

1. Also called cil·i·oph·o·ran [sil-ee-, of, -er-, uh, n]. any protozoan of the phylum Ciliophora (or in some classification schemes, class Ciliata), as those of the genera Paramecium, Tetrahymena, Stentor, and Vorticella, having cilia on part or all of the surface.

adjective

1. Also cil·i·at·ed [] having cilia.
2. belonging or pertaining to the phylum Ciliophora.

ciliate

/ ˈsɪlɪɪt; -eɪt /

adjective

1. Alsociliated possessing or relating to cilia

   a ciliate epithelium

2. of or relating to protozoans of the phylum Ciliophora , which have an outer layer of cilia

noun

1. a protozoan of the phylum Ciliophora

Derived Forms

• ˌciliˈation, noun

Other Words From

• cili·ate·ly adverb
• cili·ation noun
• multi·cili·ate adjective
• multi·cili·ated adjective
• non·cili·ate adjective
• non·cili·ated adjective
• un·cili·ated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ciliate¹

1785–95; < New Latin ciliātus, equivalent to cili ( a ) cilia + -ātus -ate ¹

Example Sentences

“To the best of our knowledge, ciliates have never been observed in association with urchin diseases elsewhere,” Hewson and his colleagues wrote in a Science Advances paper published last year.

From Science Magazine

The probable culprit is a disease-causing ciliate parasite that brings with it a fast death - perhaps the same one that has wreaked havoc on sea urchin populations in the Caribbean.

From Reuters

But they did spot traces of tiny single-celled organisms called ciliates, which only showed up in the sick urchins.

From Seattle Times

A research team placed Halteria ciliates—a type of protozoan with hairlike organelles found in freshwater worldwide—in a petri dish with only chloroviruses, which infect green algae.

From Science Magazine

He and his colleagues estimate that ciliates in a small pond might eat 10 trillion viruses a day.

From Salon