Etymologically
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cellule

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 14:46. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /sɛ.lyl/[1]
  • IPA: /se.lyl/[1]

Forms

cellule f (plural cellules)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin cellula (“small room”), a diminutive of cella (“room, storeroom”).[2][3][4] In late Latin the word was used for a prisoner's cell (before 410) and, in Christian texts, for a monk's dwelling;[3] Medieval Latin already gave it technical senses in anatomy (1110–1120) and botany (1256–1260).[3] The inherited outcome of cella is celle in place names such as La Celle, and the same word gave cellier.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Bloch and Wartburg date it to 1429; the first dated text in the TLFi, Amadis (1541), uses it for a monk's room in a monastery.[2][4][3]

Semantic evolution

Furetière in 1690 records the small lodging of each cardinal in a conclave.[2][3] The anatomist Champier uses it in 1503 for a small cavity in an organ, and it was later used for the cells of a honeycomb.[2][3] The prison cell appears in 1801, and later the isolation room of a hospital.[2][3] The biological sense, the basic unit of living things, is in Dutrochet in 1824, after the botanists' metaphor, used in English by Hooke (1665) for cork.[2][3] In 1904 it was used for the airframe of an aircraft, and in the 20th century for the photoelectric cell, the family as a unit of society, and the basic unit of a political party.[2][5][6]

Timeline

  • 1429 – First recorded.[4]
  • 1503 – A cavity in an organ, in Champier.[2]
  • 1541 – A monk's cell, in Amadis.[2]
  • 1690 – The lodging of a cardinal in conclave, in Furetière.[2]
  • 1801 – A prison cell.[2]
  • 1824 – The biological cell, in Dutrochet.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A small room for one person; a monk's or nun's cell.[6][5]
  2. A prison cell: être en cellule.[6][7]
  3. (biology) The basic structural and functional unit of living things: cellule végétale, cellule souche.[6][1]
  4. (dated) A cavity that encloses something; the cell of a honeycomb, an alveolus.[6][8]
  5. (technology) A unit that produces energy: cellule photoélectrique, cellule solaire; the airframe of an aircraft.[6][5][2]
  6. (figurative) A basic unit within a larger body: la cellule familiale, une cellule de crise, the cells of a political party.[5][6]

Word family

  • cellulaire
  • celluleux
  • cellulose
  • cellulite

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette