cell theory
- noun
- /sɛl ˈθɪəri/
- Specialized
:
teoría celular
- Although the cell theory has been extremely influential, most plants are actually much better described by the opposing organismal theory (Kaplan and Hagemann 1991).
Examples
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In biology classes, students learn that cell theory is crucial for understanding how living organisms develop and function.
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Just as Darwinian evolution, cell theory, and energetics served as fundamental principles for understanding the unity of life.
Academic text (2012) -
Thus, the five-kingdom system joined natural selection, energetics, and cell theory as broad explanatory principles that provided the foundation for discussing all of the other topics in the book.
Academic text (2012) -
The cell theory states that all living organisms are composed of cells, which are the basic units of life.
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According to cell theory, the cell is the fundamental structural and functional unit of all living things.
Synonyms
A scientific idea that cells are the basic parts of all living things
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the scientific theory about cells' is directly derivable from combining 'cell' (microscopic living unit) with 'theory' (a set of ideas explaining facts). This noun+noun compositional pattern (topic + concept) is cross-linguistically common and would be clear to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Cell theory comes from the word cell, which a scientist named Robert Hooke used after he saw tiny, box-like shapes in cork that looked like 'small rooms'. Scientists later found that these cells are the 'basic parts' of all living things, so cell theory says life is built from these simple units.
