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Glite Dictionary
🦠 With tiny hairs 🔬 A tiny protozoan 👁️ Of eyelashes
ciliate

ciliate

1 9.2
Having small hairs along the surface, for example on leaves or cells
  • adjective
  • /ˈsɪliˌeɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ciliado
  • Researchers found that the ciliate species can thrive in both fresh and saltwater environments.

Examples

  • The ciliate organism moves with the help of tiny hair-like structures on its surface.

  • The ciliate Helicostoma notatum is the possible cause of the Brown Band Disease (BrBD) that affects corals of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR).

    Academic text (2018)

  • The ciliate exhibits unique behaviors when it comes into contact with food particles.

Synonyms

ciliated
vsciliate
  • Specialized
8.2

Having many small hairs on a surface, like some cells, that move things

includes both having such projections and relating to them more generally
ciliary
vsciliate
  • Specialized
9.2

Relating to tiny hair-like structures on cells that move liquid

also covers actual possession of these projections rather than only relation
cilial
vsciliate
  • Specialized
9.8

Small hairlike parts on cells that move

is broader and also means actual presence of hairlike projections

Surface Forms

ciliate positive

Morphology

ciliate = cilium (transparent) = cili + ate

Built directly from 'cilium' (cili-) + -ate to mean 'having cilia', a straightforward biological derivation.

Etymology

The word ciliate comes from the Latin cilia (from cilium), which means 'eyelashes' or 'small hairs', so it is a good picture for tiny, hair-like edges. That's why ciliate describes leaves, cells, or margins that have fine hairs or tiny bristles.