membrane

[mem-breyn]

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noun

Anatomy. a thin, pliable sheet or layer of animal or vegetable tissue, serving to line an organ, connect parts, etc.

Cell Biology. the thin, limiting covering of a cell or cell part.

Origin of membrane

1375–1425; late Middle English; Middle English membraan parchment < Latin membrāna. See member, -an

Related formsmem·brane·less, adjectivein·ter·mem·brane, adjective

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

Related Words for membrane

sheath, sheet, lamina, leaf, film, placenta, mucosa

Examples from the Web for membrane

Historical Examples of membrane

The membrane breaks off, the fever declines, and the child begins to recover.
Rural Hygiene
Henry N. Ogden
Membranous or eous: composed of membrane or skin-like tissue.
Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology
John. B. Smith
Platelet: a little plate or sclerite of chitin in a membrane.
Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology
John. B. Smith
Bones are covered with a tough skin, or membrane (periosteum).
A Handbook of Health
Woods Hutchinson
The membrane lining the abdominal cavity and enfolding its organs.
A Handbook of Health
Woods Hutchinson

British Dictionary definitions for membrane

membrane

noun

any thin pliable sheet of material

a pliable sheetlike usually fibrous tissue that covers, lines, or connects plant and animal organs or cells

biology a double layer of lipid, containing some proteins, that surrounds biological cells and some of their internal structures

physics a two-dimensional entity postulated as a fundamental constituent of matter in superstring theories of particle physics

a skin of parchment forming part of a roll

Word Origin for membrane

C16: from Latin membrāna skin covering a part of the body, from membrum member

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 membrane

early 15c., "thin layer of skin or tissue," a term in anatomy, from Latin membrana "a skin, membrane; parchment (skin prepared for writing)," from membrum "limb, member of the body" (see member). The etymological sense is "that which covers the members of the body."

membrane in Medicine

membrane

[mĕm′brān′]

n.

A thin pliable layer of tissue covering surfaces, enveloping a part, lining a cavity, or separating or connecting structures or organs.

Cell membrane.

A thin sheet of natural or synthetic material that is permeable to substances in solution.

membrane in Science

membrane

[mĕm′brān′]

A thin, flexible layer of tissue that covers, lines, separates, or connects cells or parts of an organism. Membranes are usually made of layers of phospholipids containing suspended protein molecules and are permeable to water and fat-soluble substances.

See cell membrane.

Chemistry A thin sheet of natural or synthetic material that is permeable to substances in solution.