flagellum

[fluh-jel-uh m]

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.

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

Historical Examples of flagellum

Tim and his congeries hate the clerics, but they fear the flagellum.
Ireland as It Is
Robert John Buckley (AKA R.J.B.)
Post-annellus: in Hymenoptera, the 4th joint of antenna and 2d of flagellum.
Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology
John. B. Smith
In Trichoniscus the flagellum may have from seven to four (rarely three) joints.
The British Woodlice
Wilfred Mark Webb
It was a curious sensation—that first stroke of the flagellum.
The Lamp of Fate
Margaret Pedler
The individuals are very small indeed, and it will take your best objective to show the flagellum.
Through a Microscope
Samuel Wells

British Dictionary definitions for flagellum

flagellum

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 Formsflagellar, 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

Word Origin and History for flagellum

1852, in reference to microbes, from Latin flagellum "whip, scourge," diminutive of flagrum "whip," from PIE root *bhlag- "to strike."

flagellum in Medicine

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 formsfla•gel′lar (-jĕl′ər) adj.

flagellum in Science

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.