stereocilium

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noun

Any of many nonmotile cellular structures resembling long microvilli; those of the inner ear are responsible for auditory transduction

OriginEnglish cilium ← Latin cilium ← Proto-Italic *keljom →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

nounstereocilium (plural stereocilia)

plural stereocilia

  1. anatomyAny of many nonmotile cellular structures resembling long microvilli; those of the inner ear are responsible for auditory transduction

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
stereovillum

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ster-
  2. Ancient Greekστερεός (stereós)
  3. Ancient Greekστερεο- (stereo-)
  4. Englishstereo-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*ḱel-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*ḱelyom
  7. Proto-Italic*keljom
  8. Latincilium
  9. Englishcilium
  10. Englishstereocilium

From stereo- + cilium.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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