cilium
/ˈsɪl.i.əm/
"cilium" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cilium” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A short microscopic hairlike organelle projecting from a eukaryotic cell (such as a unicellular organism or one cell of a multicelled organism) which serve either for propulsion by causing currents...
Corpus desk
Index EN-cilium · cilium · English
cilium · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cilium |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsɪl.i.əm/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “cilium” in English
Rare enough to double-check
cilium is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsɪl.i.əm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for cilium, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin cilium (“eyelid”). The correct English form is cilium, spelled C-I-L-I-U-M.
Definition
- 1A short microscopic hairlike organelle projecting from a eukaryotic cell (such as a unicellular organism or one cell of a multicelled organism) which serve either for propulsion by causing currents in the surrounding fluid or as sensors.
- 2One of the fine hairs along an insect's wing.
- 3One of the hairs or similar protrusions along the margin of an organ.
- 4An eyelash.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how cilium appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
It is the deeper parts of such cells which give rise to delicate muscular fibres or networks of fibres, while the superficially placed body of the cell myoblast), the part which produces the above, performs other functions, and usually bears a cilium.
The clockwise beating of cilia results in a net flow of extraembryonic fluid leftwards […]
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin cilium (“eyelid”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.