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Cell vs Precellular - What's the difference?

cell | precellular |

As a noun cell

is a single-room dwelling for a hermit or cell can be (us|informal) a cellular phone.

As a verb cell

is to place or enclose in a cell.

As an adjective precellular is

before the formation of biological cells.

cell

English

Etymology 1

(etyl) , later reinforced by (etyl) cel, (sele), (etyl) cele.

Noun

(en noun) (wikipedia cell)
  • A single-room dwelling for a hermit.
  • * 1596 , (Edmund Spenser), The Faerie Queene , VI.6:
    • So, taking them apart into his cell , / He to that point fit speaches gan to frame […].
  • A small room in a monastery or nunnery accommodating one person.
    • Gregor Mendel must have spent a good amount of time outside of his cell .
  • Each of the small hexagonal compartments in a honeycomb.
  • * 1858 , (Asa Gray), Introduction to Structural and Systematic Botany , fifth edition, p. 282:
    • Each of the two cells or lobes of the anther is marked with a lateral line or furrow, running from top to bottom.
  • (obsolete) Specifically, any of the supposed compartments of the brain, formerly thought to be the source of specific mental capacities, knowledge, or memories.
  • * 1890 , (Oscar Wilde), The Picture of Dorian Gray , ch.XVI:
    • From cell' to ' cell of his brain crept the one thought; and the wild desire to live, most terrible of all man's appetites, quickened into force each trembling nerve and fibre.
  • A section or compartment of a larger structure.
  • *, II.12:
    • Thou seest but the order and policie of this little Cell .
  • * 1810 , (Walter Scott), Lady of the Lake , II:
    • Not long shall honour'd Douglas dwell, / Like hunted stag, in mountain-cell .
  • A room in a prison for one or more inmates.
    • The combatants spent the night in separate cells .
  • A device which stores electrical]] power; used either singly or together in [[battery, batteries; the basic unit of a battery.
    • This MP3 player runs on 2 AAA cells .
  • (biology) The basic unit of a living organism, consisting of a quantity of protoplasm surrounded by a cell membrane, which is able to synthesize proteins and replicate itself.
  • * 1999 , Paul Brown & Dave King, The Guardian , 15 Feb 1999:
    • An American company has applied to experiment in Britain on Parkinson's disease sufferers by injecting their brains with cells from pigs.
  • * 2011 , Terence Allen & Graham Cowling, The Cell: A Very Short Introduction , Oxford 2011, p. 3:
    • In multicellular organisms, groups of cells form tissues and tissues come together to form organs.
  • (meteorology) A small thunderstorm, caused by convection, that forms ahead of a storm front.
    • There is a powerful storm cell headed our way.
  • (computing) The minimal unit of a cellular automaton that can change state and has an associated behavior.
    • The upper right cell always starts with the color green.
  • (card games) In FreeCell-type games, a space where one card can be placed.
  • A small group of people forming part of a larger organization, often an outlawed one.
    • Those three fellows are the local cell of that organization.
  • (communication) A short, fixed-length packet as in .
    • Virtual Channel number 5 received 170 cells .
  • (communication) A region of radio reception that is a part of a larger radio network.
    • I get good reception in my home because it is near a cell tower.
  • (geometry) A three-dimensional facet of a polytope.
  • (statistics) The unit in a statistical array (a spreadsheet, for example) where a row and a column intersect.
  • (architecture) The space between the ribs of a vaulted roof.
  • (architecture) A cella.
  • (entomology) An area of an insect wing bounded by veins
    • Usage notes
    In the sense of an electrical device, "cell" is the technically correct name for a single unit of battery-type power storage, whereas a battery is a device comprising multiple of them, though it is often used for simple cells.
    Quotations
    * (English Citations of "cell")
    Synonyms
    * See also
    Derived terms
    (terms derived from "cell") * battery cell * blood cell * brain cell * cancer cell * cellbound * cell division * cell house * cell line * cell membrane * cell theory * cell type * cellblock * cellmate * dry cell * fat cell * fuel cell * germ cell * helper T cell * host cell * photoconductive cell * photoelectric cell * photoemissive cell * photovoltaic cell * prison cell * nerve cell * red cell * red blood cell * sickle cell * skin cell * solar cell * stem cell * T cell
    Related terms
    * cellular

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To place or enclose in a cell.
  • * Warner
    • Celled under ground.
    (Webster 1913)

    Etymology 2

    From (cell phone), from (cellular phone), from (cellular) + (telephone)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (US, informal) A cellular phone.
    • Usage notes
    * Widely used attributively.

    External links

    * * * * ----

    precellular

    English

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Before the formation of biological cells.
  • * 2011 , Larry L. Barton, Diana E. Northup, Microbial Ecology (page 9)
    • The precellular phase would involve astrophysical and geochemical activities at a time before the presence of biological cells.
  • Of or pertaining to precells.