cilium

See also: Cilium

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cilium (“eyelid”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɪl.i.əm/
• Rhymes: -ɪliəm

Noun

cilium (plural cilia)

1. (cytology) A short microscopic hairlike organelle projecting from a eukaryotic cell (such as a unicellular organism or one cell of a multicelled organism) which serve either for propulsion by causing currents in the surrounding fluid or as sensors.

   Hyponym: primary cilium

2. (entomology) One of the fine hairs along an insect's wing.
3. (botany) Hairs or similar protrusions along the margin of an organ.
4. (anatomy) An eyelash.

Hyponyms

• ciliolum

Derived terms

• macrocilium

 

eyelashes (cilia)

Derived terms

• ciliary
• cilio-
• kinocilium
• monociliate
• monocilium
• stereocilium
• uniciliate

 

Related terms

• supercilium

Translations

hairlike organelle projecting from eukaryotic cell

• Bulgarian: ресна (bg) f (resna)
• Chinese: 纖毛／纤毛 (zh) (xiānmáo), 纤毛 (zh) (xiānmáo)
• Czech: řasinka (cs) f, brva (cs) f
• Finnish: värekarva (fi)
• Greek: βλεφαρίδα (el) f (vlefarída)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: برژۆڵە (birjolle)

  Northern Kurdish: kûlk (ku)

• Maori: hururiki
• Nepali: पक्ष्म (pakṣma)
• Polish: rzęska f
• Portuguese: cílio (pt) m
• Russian: ресни́чка (ru) f (resníčka)
• Spanish: cilio (es) m
• Swedish: cilie (sv) c

hair along the margin of an organ

• Bulgarian: ресница f (resnica)
• Finnish: ripsi (fi)

eyelash — see eyelash

See also

• flagellum

References

• “cilium”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “cilium”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *keljom, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel-yo-m, which is derived from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover”). Alternatively compare Ancient Greek κῠ́λᾱ (kúlā, “the parts under the eyes”) (though Beekes doubts this connection and derives the latter from Pre-Greek).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈki.li.um/, [ˈkɪlʲiʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃi.li.um/, [ˈt͡ʃiːlium]

Noun

cilium n (genitive ciliī or cilī); second declension

1. (anatomy) eyelid

   Synonym: palpebra

   1. (transferred sense) lower eyelid

      Antonym: supercilium

2. (Medieval Latin, usually in the plural) eyelash

   Synonym: palpebra

Inflection

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	cilium	cilia
Genitive	ciliī cilī1	ciliōrum
Dative	ciliō	ciliīs
Accusative	cilium	cilia
Ablative	ciliō	ciliīs
Vocative	cilium	cilia

¹Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).

Derived terms

• ciliāris (adjective)
• intercilium
• supercilium

Descendants

(Several via the plural cilia.)

• Dalmatian:
  • čeja
• Italo-Romance:
  • Italian: ciglio
  • Sicilian: cigghiu, gigghiu
• Insular Romance:
  • Sardinian: chizu, cillu, chiza
• North Italian:
  • Friulian: cee
  • Istriot: sia
  • Lombard: zida
  • >? Piedmontese: sign
  • Romagnol: zida
  • Romansch: tschegl
  • Venetian: segia, zheja, cegia, çéi
• Gallo-Romance:
  • Catalan: cella
  • Old French: cil, cille
    • French: cil
  • Occitan: cilh, celh, cilha, celha
• Ibero-Romance:
  • Aragonese: cella
  • Asturian: ceya
  • Galician: cella
  • Portuguese: celha
  • Spanish: ceja, cejo
• Borrowings:
  • → English: cilium
  • → Ido: cilio
  • → Portuguese: cílio
  • → Romanian: ciliu
  • → Spanish: cilio
  • → Swedish: cilie

References

• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “cĭlium”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 2: C Q K, page 627

Further reading

• “cilium”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• cilium in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• cilium in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[1], pre-publication website, 2005-2016