lysosome

L1Y4S1O1S1O1M3E1
US/ˈlaɪsəˌsoʊm/

noun

An organelle found in all types of animal cells which contains a large range of digestive enzymes capable of splitting most biological macromolecules.

OriginAncient Greek σῶμα (sôma) ← Proto-Hellenic *styṓmə? ← Proto-Indo-European *(s)tyoH-mn̥ →
UncommonScrabble 13
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Meanings

nounlysosome (plural lysosomes)

plural lysosomes

  1. biologyAn organelle found in all types of animal cells which contains a large range of digestive enzymes capable of splitting most biological macromolecules.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*lewh₁-
  2. Ancient Greekλύω (lúō)
  3. Ancient Greekλῠ́σῐς (lŭ́sĭs)
  4. Englishlyso-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*tewh₂-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*twoH-mn̥
  7. Proto-Hellenic*twṓmə?
  8. Proto-Indo-European*styeH-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*(s)tyoH-mn̥
  10. Proto-Hellenic*styṓmə?
  11. Ancient Greekσῶμα (sôma)
  12. Englishlysosome

From lyso- + -some.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan lisosoma
  • lisosomadigestive organelle
Chinese Mandarin 溶酶體 /溶酶体
  • 溶酶體 /溶酶体 (róngméitǐ)digestive organelle
Czech lyzozom
  • lyzozomdigestive organelle
Danish lysosom
  • lysosomdigestive organelle
Dutch lysosoom
  • lysosoomdigestive organelle
Esperanto lizosomo
  • lizosomodigestive organelle
Finnish lysosomi
  • lysosomidigestive organelle
French lysosome
  • lysosomedigestive organelle
German Lysosom
  • Lysosomdigestive organelle
Hindi लयनकाय
  • लयनकाय (layankāy)digestive organelle
Hungarian lizoszóma
  • lizoszómadigestive organelle
Icelandic leysibóla, leysikorn
  • leysibóladigestive organelle
  • leysikorndigestive organelle
Indonesian lisosom
  • lisosomdigestive organelle
Italian lisosoma
  • lisosomadigestive organelle
Japanese リソソーム, 水解小体
  • リソソーム (risosōmu)digestive organelle
  • 水解小体 (suikaishoutai)digestive organelle
Malay lisosom
  • lisosomdigestive organelle
Māori pūnaku
  • pūnakudigestive organelle
Polish lizosom
  • lizosomdigestive organelle
Portuguese lisossoma, lisossomo
  • lisossomadigestive organelle
  • lisossomodigestive organelle
Russian лизосо́ма
  • лизосо́ма (lizosóma)digestive organelle
Spanish lisosoma
  • lisosomadigestive organelle
Swedish lysosom
  • lysosomdigestive organelle
Tagalog biluslawas
  • biluslawasdigestive organelle
Tamil முறிமெய்யம்
  • முறிமெய்யம் (muṟimeyyam)digestive organelle
Turkish lizozom
  • lizozomdigestive organelle
Vietnamese tiêu thể
  • tiêu thểdigestive organelle
Cite this entry
APA

lysosome. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lysosome

MLA

“lysosome.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lysosome. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lysosome,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lysosome.

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