Etymology

cilium

C3I1L1I1U1M3

Today it means: 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. Full definition →

Latin cilium ← Proto-Italic *keljom ← Proto-Indo-European *ḱelyom
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱel-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱelyom
  3. Proto-Italic*keljom
  4. Latincilium
  5. English todaycilium

Borrowed from Latin cilium (“eyelid”).

Words from the same roots

Latincilium all →

seelkinocilium

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.