flagellum

[ fluh-jel-uhm ]

noun,plural fla·gel·la [fluh-jel-uh], /fləˈdʒɛl ə/, fla·gel·lums.
  1. Biology. a long, lashlike appendage serving as an organ of locomotion in protozoa, sperm cells, etc.

  2. Botany. a runner.

  1. Also called clavola. Entomology. (in an antenna) the whiplike portion above the basal joints.

  2. a whip or lash.

Origin of flagellum

1
1800–10; <Latin: whip, lash, diminutive of flagrum a whip, scourge

Words Nearby flagellum

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use flagellum in a sentence

  • In addition to the main flagellum, there are usually one or two small flagella at the basis of the larger one.

British Dictionary definitions for flagellum

flagellum

/ (fləˈdʒɛləm) /


nounplural -la (-lə) or -lums
  1. biology a long whiplike outgrowth from a cell that acts as an organ of locomotion: occurs in some protozoans, gametes, spores, etc

  2. botany a long thin supple shoot or runner

  1. zoology the terminal whiplike part of an arthropod's appendage, esp of the antenna of many insects

Origin of flagellum

1
C19: from Latin: a little whip, from flagrum a whip, lash

Derived forms of flagellum

  • flagellar, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for flagellum

flagellum

[ flə-jĕləm ]


Plural flagella
  1. A slender whiplike part extending from some single-celled organisms, such as the dinoflagellates, that moves rapidly back and forth to impart movement to the organism.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.