Meanings
plural mitochondria · plural proscribed rare mitochondrions
- biologyA spherical or ovoid organelle found in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells and containing genetic material separate from that of the host; it is responsible for the conversion of food to usable energy in the form of ATP.
The consideration of the mitochondrion in the spermatocytes I shall pass over, as it is not within the bounds of this paper; yet I hope to study the earlier generations of my material, and shall then compare the results.
1902 February 28, W. J. Baumgartner, “Spermatid Transformations in Gryllus assimilis, with Special Reference to the Nebenkern”, in Kansas University Science Bulletin, volume 1, number 2
Synonyms & antonyms
nounan organelle containing enzymes responsible for producing energy
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekμίτος“thread”
- GermanMitochondrium
- Englishmitochondrion
From German Mitochondrium, coined by Carl Benda in 1898, from Ancient Greek μίτος (mítos, “thread”) + χονδρίον (khondríon), diminutive of χόνδρος (khóndros, “grain, morsel”).
More words from German, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مِيتُوكُنْدْرِيُون, مُتَقَدِّرَة
- مِيتُوكُنْدْرِيُون (mītūkundriyūn)respiratory organelle
- مُتَقَدِّرَة (mutaqaddira)respiratory organelle
- مُصَوِّرَة حَيَوِيَّةrespiratory organelle
- حُبَيْبَة خَيْطِيَّةrespiratory organelle
Bengali মাইটোকন্ড্রিয়া
- মাইটোকন্ড্রিয়া (maiṭōkonḍriẏa)respiratory organelle
Bulgarian митохондрия
- митохондрия (mitohondrija)respiratory organelle
Catalan mitocondri
- mitocondrirespiratory organelle
Chinese Mandarin 線粒體 /线粒体, 粒線體 /粒线体
- 線粒體 /线粒体 (xiànlìtǐ)respiratory organelle
- 粒線體 /粒线体 (lìxiàntǐ)respiratory organelle
Czech mitochondrie
- mitochondrierespiratory organelle
Danish mitokondrie
- mitokondrierespiratory organelle
Dutch mitochondrium, mitochondrion
- mitochondriumrespiratory organelle
- mitochondrionrespiratory organelle
Esperanto mitoĥondrio, mitokondrio
- mitoĥondriorespiratory organelle
- mitokondriorespiratory organelle
Estonian mitokonder
- mitokonderrespiratory organelle
Finnish mitokondrio
- mitokondriorespiratory organelle
French mitochondrie
- mitochondrierespiratory organelle
German Mitochondrium, Mitochondrion
- Mitochondriumrespiratory organelle
- Mitochondrionrespiratory organelle
Greek μιτοχόνδριο
- μιτοχόνδριο (mitochóndrio)respiratory organelle
Hebrew מיטוכונדריון
- מיטוכונדריון (mitokhondrion)respiratory organelle
Hindi सूत्रकणिका
- सूत्रकणिका (sūtrakaṇikā)respiratory organelle
Hungarian mitokondrium
- mitokondriumrespiratory organelle
Icelandic hvatberi
- hvatberirespiratory organelle
Indonesian mitokondria
- mitokondriarespiratory organelle
Irish miteacoindre
- miteacoindrerespiratory organelle
Italian mitocondrio
- mitocondriorespiratory organelle
Japanese ミトコンドリア, 糸粒体
- ミトコンドリア (mitokondoria)respiratory organelle
- 糸粒体 (shiryuutai)respiratory organelle
Korean 미토콘드리아, 사립체
- 미토콘드리아 (mitokondeuria)respiratory organelle
- 사립체 (saripche)respiratory organelle
Malay mitokondrion
- mitokondrionrespiratory organelle
Māori punaraungao
- punaraungaorespiratory organelle
Norwegian Bokmål mitokondrium, mitokondrie
- mitokondriumrespiratory organelle
- mitokondrierespiratory organelle
Persian میتوکندری, راکیزه
- میتوکندری (mitokondri)respiratory organelle
- راکیزه (râkize)respiratory organelle
Polish mitochondrium
- mitochondriumrespiratory organelle
Portuguese mitocôndria
- mitocôndriarespiratory organelle
Russian митохо́ндрия
- митохо́ндрия (mitoxóndrija)respiratory organelle
Slovak mitochondria
- mitochondriarespiratory organelle
Spanish mitocondria
- mitocondriarespiratory organelle
Swedish mitokondrie
- mitokondrierespiratory organelle
Tagalog sulidlawas
- sulidlawasrespiratory organelle
Thai ไมโทคอนเดรีย
- ไมโทคอนเดรีย (maitohkondàyreey)respiratory organelle
Turkish mitokondri
- mitokondrirespiratory organelle
Ukrainian мітохондрія
- мітохондрія (mitoxondrija)respiratory organelle
Vietnamese ti thể
- ti thểrespiratory organelle
Welsh mitocondrion
- mitocondrionrespiratory organelle
Cite this entry
mitochondrion. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mitochondrion
“mitochondrion.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mitochondrion. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mitochondrion,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mitochondrion.
Source: mitochondrion on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.