cilium

American  

[sil-ee-uhm] / ˈsɪl i əm /

noun

1. singular of cilia.

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cilium British  

/ ˈsɪlɪəm /

noun

1. any of the short thread-like projections on the surface of a cell, organism, etc, whose rhythmic beating causes movement of the organism or of the surrounding fluid

2. the technical name for eyelash

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cilium Scientific  

/ sĭl′ē-əm /

plural

cilia

1. A tiny hairlike projection on the surface of some cells and microscopic organisms, especially protozoans. Cilia are capable of whipping motions and are used by some microorganisms, such as paramecia, for movement. Cilia lining the human respiratory tract act to remove foreign matter from air before it reaches the lungs.

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Etymology

Origin of cilium

From Latin

Example Sentences

The reason for this daytime-induced enhanced healing process appears to be from the relationship the 24-hour cycle has on the length of the primary cilium.

From Science Daily • Dec. 21, 2023

Depending on its position, a cilium can be more effected by its neighbor than vice versa, especially in a dense carpet of cilia as it frequently occurs in nature.

From Science Daily • Sep. 29, 2023

The primary cilium is an internally dynamic structure, packed with proteins that detect and convey important messages to its cell about the local environment. “The signaling machinery is concentrated in the cilia,” Witman says.

From Scientific American • Dec. 10, 2014

They also have a single, nonmotile cilium that responds to the rate of fluid movement in the tubule.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

At this stage many of the spores assume each a flagellate cilium, and so acquire power of more rapid locomotion.

From The North American Slime-Moulds A Descriptive List of All Species of Myxomycetes Hitherto Reported from the Continent of North America, with Notes on Some Extra-Limital Species by MacBride, Thomas H. (Thomas Huston)

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