cell organelle
- noun
- /sɛl ɔrˈɡænɛl/
- Specialized
:
organelo
- The nucleus acts as the control center and is an important cell organelle for storing genetic information.
Examples
-
In Lives of a Cell, Lewis Thomas discusses the relationship between cell organelles and organisms.
Fiction book (1994) -
In summary, the impact of radiation on the biological properties of tumor cell organelles also has a significant impact on the development and recurrence of cancer.
Academic text (2018) -
We will research nuclear fusion and deploy fission and fusion in space exploration and space mining, but we won't need it here on Earth where it can damage cell organelles.
Blog text (10) -
The mitochondrion is a vital cell organelle that provides energy for the cell's activities.
-
Chloroplasts are a type of cell organelle found in plant cells that are responsible for photosynthesis.
Synonyms
3
5.6
A small part inside a cell that has one job
A part inside a cell that does a specific job, like making energy
How Specialized
- Specialized
- Specialized
1
4.9
- Specialized
5
6.2
- Specialized
77
4.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a specialized structure within a cell' is directly compositional from 'cell' (the biological unit) + 'organelle' (a structure performing specific functions); the noun phrase simply specifies the location/host of an organelle. This is a literal, cross-linguistically common formation and therefore immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.
Etymology
The term cell organelle comes from the idea that tiny parts inside a cell act like little organs. The word organ with the small ending -elle makes the image of a 'small organ' that does a particular 'job' inside the cell, so the phrase means a special part of a cell with its own job.