"cell (biology)" in seven languages
Meaningcell (biology)
Spanish
célula
/ˈθelula/
fem.learned
French
cellule
/selyl/
fem.learned
Italian
cellula
/ˈtʃɛllula/
fem.learned
Portuguese
célula
/ˈsɛlulɐ/
fem.learned
Romanian
celulă
/tʃeˈlulə/
fem.learned
Catalan
cèl·lula
/ˈsɛlulə/
fem.learned
English
cell
/sɛl/
from Latin/French · Latin cella 'small room'
English → Italiancell (biology)cellulaCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
CELLULAM‘little room (diminutive of CELLA)’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Biology took the diminutive CELLULA 'little room' from written Latin, while English kept plain cell. For a prison or monk's cell, Spanish and Italian use the plain word (celda, cella); French says cellule for both.
English relatives: cellular, cell, cellar
Learn it
In a sentence
- esTodos los seres vivos están formados por células.
- frTous les êtres vivants sont faits de cellules.
- itTutti gli esseri viventi sono fatti di cellule.
- ptTodos os seres vivos são formados por células.
- roToate ființele vii sunt alcătuite din celule.
- caTots els éssers vius estan formats per cèl·lules.
- enEvery living thing is made of cells.