: a minute short hairlike process often forming part of a fringe
especially: one on a cell that is capable of lashing movement and serves especially in free unicellular organisms to produce locomotion or in higher forms a current of fluid
Recent Examples on the WebOne tiny flick of a microscopic cellular hair, known as a cilium, can’t do much on its own. Saugat Bolakhe, Scientific American, 11 July 2022 Once the voltage is reversed, the oxygen is driven out of the platinum—and the cilium returns to its original shape. Saugat Bolakhe, Scientific American, 11 July 2022 Mechanical interactions that began at the level of a single cilium, and then multiplied over millions of cells and extended to higher levels of structure, fully explained the coordinated locomotion of the entire animal.Quanta Magazine, 16 Mar. 2022 Cilia are found throughout our bodies, but only a small number of kinds of cells have more than one cilium apiece. Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 30 Dec. 2019 When those cilia become paralyzed, they are rendered unable to do their job protecting the lungs, and this increases your risk of infection, like pneumonia. Maggie O'neill, Health.com, 12 Sep. 2019 Among their design concerns were methods for nurturing cilium and for recycling sweat. Guy Trebay, New York Times, 26 Sep. 2017 See More
Word History
Etymology
New Latin, from Latin, eyelid; akin to Latin celare to conceal — more at hell