Flagellum
/fləˈdʒɛləm/noun
A whip-like structure used for movement or sensory function by certain cells and microorganisms.
Did you know?In Latin, flagellum meant a whip or scourge; its biological use arose because the slender rotating appendage was imagined as whip-like.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Italic
Proto-Italic
*flagellom
“Reconstructed form associated with a whip or scourge”
Classical Latin
Latin
flagellum
“A whip, scourge, or small whip; diminutive of flagrum”
Late Latin
Latin
flagellum
“A whip-like instrument and, by analogy, a whip-shaped object”
17th Century
New Latin
flagellum
“A whip-like appendage in anatomical and biological descriptions”
Modern English
English
flagellum
“A whip-like cellular or microbial structure used chiefly for locomotion or sensation”
Explore more surprising origins