Lysosome
/ˈlaɪ.sə.soʊm/noun
A membrane-bound cell organelle containing enzymes that digest waste, damaged components, and foreign material.
Did you know?The lysosome was identified by Belgian cytologist Christian de Duve in the 1950s, and its name combines Greek lysis, “a loosening or dissolution,” with sōma, “body.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*leu-
“To loosen, divide, or separate”
Ancient Greek
Greek
lýsis
“A loosening, dissolution, release, or breaking apart”
Ancient Greek
Greek
sôma
“Body”
19th Century
Scientific Greek
-some
“A combining form meaning “body,” used in biological terminology”
1955
English
lysosome
“A newly coined cytological term for an enzyme-containing cellular body involved in intracellular digestion”
Modern English
English
lysosome
“A cellular organelle that digests materials using hydrolytic enzymes”