thylakoid

[thahy-luh-koid]

noun Cell Biology.

a flattened sac or vesicle lined with a pigmented membrane that is the site of photosynthesis, in plants and algae occurring in interconnected stacks constituting a granum of the chloroplast, and in other photosynthesizing organisms occurring either singly or as part of the cell membrane or other structure.

Origin of thylakoid

1965–70; < German Thylakoid < Greek thȳlakoeidḗs resembling a bag, equivalent to thȳ́lak(os) sack + -oēidēs -oid

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

thylakoid in Science

[thī′lə-koid′]

A saclike membrane that contains the chlorophyll in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of plant cells and green algae. In chloroplasts, thylakoids are arranged in stacks called grana.