flagellum

[ fluh-jel-uh m ]

/ fləˈdʒɛl əm /

noun, plural fla·gel·la [fluh-jel-uh] /fləˈdʒɛl ə/, fla·gel·lums.

Biology. a long, lashlike appendage serving as an organ of locomotion in protozoa, sperm cells, etc.

Botany. a runner.

Also called clavola. Entomology. (in an antenna) the whiplike portion above the basal joints.

a whip or lash.

Nearby words

flagellated, flagellation, flagelliform, flagellin, flagellosis, flagellum, flageolet, flagfish, flagg, flagging, flaggy

Origin of flagellum

1800–10; < Latin: whip, lash, diminutive of flagrum a whip, scourge

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for flagellum

From the apex a flagellum projects in many forms, giving the larva a helmet-like appearance.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume II (of 4)|Francis Maitland Balfour
The edges of its side plates are toothed, its flagellum has but a single joint and it has no eyes.
The British Woodlice|Wilfred Mark Webb
The distal joint of the flagellum is the longer, and the flagellum itself is equal in length to the last joint of the peduncle.
The British Woodlice|Wilfred Mark Webb
Flagellum of the antenna with six coalescent pseudo-segments; maxilla blunt.
Handbook of Medical Entomology|William Albert Riley

The Euglenaceae contain the largest species, up to 130 μ in length, exclusive of the flagellum.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 4|Various

British Dictionary definitions for flagellum

flagellum

/ (fləˈdʒɛləm) /

noun plural -la (-lə) or -lums

biology a long whiplike outgrowth from a cell that acts as an organ of locomotion: occurs in some protozoans, gametes, spores, etc

botany a long thin supple shoot or runner

zoology the terminal whiplike part of an arthropod's appendage, esp of the antenna of many insects

Derived Forms

flagellar, adjective

Word Origin for flagellum

C19: from Latin: a little whip, from flagrum a whip, lash

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

Medicine definitions for flagellum

flagellum

[ flə-jĕl′əm ]

n. pl. fla•gel•la (-jĕl′ə)

A threadlike appendage, especially a whiplike extension of certain cells or organisms that functions as an organ of locomotion.

Related forms

fla•gel′lar (-jĕl′ər) adj.

Science definitions for flagellum

flagellum

[ flə-jĕl′əm ]

Plural flagella

A slender whiplike part extending from some single-celled organisms, such as the dinoflagellates, that moves rapidly back and forth to impart movement to the organism.