hypha

H4Y4P3H4A1
/ˈhaɪfə/

noun

Any of the long, threadlike filaments that form the mycelium of a fungus.

OriginNew Latin hypha ← Ancient Greek ὑφή →
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Meanings

nounhypha (plural hyphae)

plural hyphae

  1. biologyAny of the long, threadlike filaments that form the mycelium of a fungus.

    She lays out how fungal hyphae—countless miles of filaments folded up in every spoon of soil—coax open tree roots and tap into them.

    2018, Richard Powers, The Overstory, Vintage (2019), page 272

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekὑφή“web”
  2. New Latinhypha
  3. Englishhypha

From New Latin hypha, from Ancient Greek ὑφή (huphḗ, “web”).

More words from New Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Basque hifa
  • hifafilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
Catalan hifa
  • hifafilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
Dutch schimmeldraad, zwamdraad
  • schimmeldraadfilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
  • zwamdraadfilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
  • hyfefilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
Esperanto hifo
  • hifofilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
Finnish sienirihma
  • sienirihmafilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
French hyphe
  • hyphefilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
German Hyphe
  • Hyphefilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
Hungarian hifa, gombafonal
  • hifafilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
  • gombafonalfilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
  • gombafonalakfilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
Indonesian hifa, benang jamur
  • hifafilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
  • benang jamurfilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
Italian ifa
  • ifafilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
Māori torohihi
  • torohihifilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
Norwegian hyfe
  • hyfefilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
Persian نَخینه
  • نَخینهfilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
Polish strzępka
  • strzępkafilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
Portuguese hifa
  • hifafilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
Romanian hifă
  • hifăfilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
Spanish hifa
  • hifafilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
Swedish hyf
  • hyffilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
Tagalog hiblay
  • hiblayfilament that forms the mycelium of a fungus
Ukrainian гіф
  • гіф (hif)filament that forms the mycelium of a fungus

Rhymes & wordplay

Sounds the same

Haifaheifer
Cite this entry
APA

hypha. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hypha

MLA

“hypha.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hypha. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hypha,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hypha.

Source: hypha on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.