cel

or cell

[sel]

noun

a transparent celluloid sheet on which a character, scene, etc., is drawn or painted and which constitutes one frame in the filming of an animated cartoon: may be overlapped for change of background or foreground.

Origin of cel

by shortening of celluloid

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for cel

Historical Examples of cel

It's then we takes up the business of havin' that cel'bration.
Faro Nell and Her Friends
Alfred Henry Lewis
The “Miscellany” was an interesting publication: pronounce miscellany with the accent on mis, and not on cel.
Five Hundred Mistakes of Daily Occurrence in Speaking, Pronouncing, and Writing the English Language, Corrected
Anonymous
Old French had distinct pronouns for “this” and “that”—cest (ecce istum) and cel (ecce illium), with their cases.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 1 "Franciscans" to "French Language"
Various
Celeno (Cel′eno) was one of the Harpies, progenitor of Zephyrus, the west wind.
1000 Mythological Characters Briefly Described
Edward S. Ellis
Cel'adon and Ame'lia, lovers of matchless beauty, and most devoted to each other.
Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol 1
The Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D.

British Dictionary definitions for cel

cel

cell

noun

short for celluloid (def. 2b), celluloid (def. 2c)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cel

"celluloid sheet for an animated cartoon," from celluloid; became current by c.1990 when they became collectible.