Vacuoles
/ˈvæk.ju.oʊlz/noun
Membrane-bound compartments in cells that store water, nutrients, waste, or other substances.
Did you know?The name reflects how vacuoles first appeared under early microscopes: as clear, seemingly empty spaces within cells, even though they can store pigments, toxins, water, and waste.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wak-
“Empty or unoccupied; the proposed ancestral root of Latin vacuus.”
Classical Latin
Latin
vacuus
“Empty, unoccupied, or free from something.”
Late Latin
Latin
vacuolus
“Little empty space; a diminutive form related to vacuus.”
19th Century
French/New Latin
vacuole
“A small cavity or empty-looking space, especially in biological tissue.”
19th Century
English
vacuole
“A small cavity within a cell, recognized through microscopy.”
Modern English
English
vacuoles
“Plural of vacuole: membrane-bound cellular compartments that store or regulate substances.”