organelle Hear it!

organelle definition

or·gan·elle (ôr′gə nel′)

noun

a discrete structure within a cell, as a chloroplast or centriole, characterized by having specialized functions, a usually distinctive chemical composition, and an identifying molecular structure: often found in large numbers in a particular cell

Etymology: Ger < ModL organella < L organum (< Gr organon: see organ) + -ella, fem. of -ellus, dim. suffix

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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