columella

See also Columella

English

Etymology

From Latin columella (“small column”).

Noun

columella (plural columellae)

1. (biology) Any of various small structures in plants or animals that are columnar in shape.
2. (anatomy) The skin at the end of the septum which separates the nostrils.
3. (comparative anatomy) In birds, reptiles, and amphibians, the small bone which carries vibration from the tympanum to the inner ear.
4. (malacology) In gastropods, the structure at the center of the whorls of the shell.
5. (coral science) The structure at the center of the calyx where the septa join together.
6. (mycology) The central sterile portion of the sporangium in various fungi.
7. (palynology) A rod-shaped reinforcing element of the sexine layer of a pollen grain.

Translations

any of various small structures in plants or animals

• Spanish: columela (es) f

skin at the end of the septum

• Spanish: columela (es) f

central sterile portion of the sporangium

• Spanish: columela (es) f

Derived terms

• columellar
• columellate
• columelloid

References

• “columella” in The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000.

See also

• columella on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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Italian

Etymology

From Latin columella.

Noun

columella f (plural columelle)

1. (biology, anatomy, zoology) columella, modiolus
2. (anatomy) stapes, stirrup bone, stirrup

Synonyms

• (columella bone): modiolo
• (stirrup bone): staffa

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Latin

Noun

columella (genitive columellae); f, first declension

1. Diminutive of columna; thus, a small column.

Descendants

• English: columella
• French: coulemelle
• Italian: columella, colmello
• Portuguese: columela
• Spanish: colmillo