You searched for: “cilium
cilium (s), cilia (pl)
A fine hairlike projection from a cell; such as, those in the respiratory tract.

Cilia can help to sweep away fluids and particles. Some single-celled organisms use the rhythmical motion of cilia for locomotion.

Cilium is Latin referring to the edge of the eyelid and, much later, to the eyelashes. In the same sense, cilia came to refer to the fine hairlike projections from cells.

This entry is located in the following units: cilio-, cili-, cil- (page 2) -um (page 3)