Dictionary

cell wall en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /sɛl wɔːl/ (US)
• (US) audio
• /sɛl wɔːl/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /sɛl wɑːl/ (US)

Meanings

1. A rigid, non-living structural layer located outside the cell membrane in certain cells, such as those of plants, fungi, bacteria, and some algae, providing support, shape, and protection.
   • The name of Chlamydomonas is applied to certain microscopic green bodies, each of which consists of a protoplasmic central substance invested by a structureless sac. The latter contains cellulose, as in ordinary plants; and the chlorophyll which gives the green colour enables the Chlamydomonas to decompose carbonic acid and fix carbon, as they do. Two long cilia protrude through the cell-wall, and effect the rapid locomotion of this "monad," which, in all respects except its mobility, is characteristically a plant. 1876, T. H. Huxley, “On the Border Territory between the Animal and the Vegetable Kingdoms”, in Littell's Living Age, vol. 128, no. 1657:
   • Think of the cell wall as a wicker basket in which a balloon has been inflated so that it exerts pressure from the inside. Such a basket is very rigid and resistant to mechanical damage. 2000, John L. Howland, The Surprising Archaea: Discovering Another Domain of Life, page 70:
   • The structural distinctiveness of the cell—in plants especially—is dues in large part to the presence of an outer layer, or coat, the cell wall, which in plants is usually firm, and often hard and thick; in animals, delicate or lacking. 1947, Arthur J. Eames, Laurence H. MacDaniels, An Introduction to Plant Anatomy, 2nd edition:
   • Terrestrial vascular plants contain considerable quantities of lignin, an amorphous phenylpropanoid structural polymer that binds cell wall components and cell walls together providing structural stability to plants. 1994, Robert A. Blanchette, “Lignin biodegradation in cell walls of woody plants”, in O. Petrini, G. B. Ouellette, editors, Host Wall Alterations by Parasitic Fungi, pages 55–65:

Forms

Translations (33)

es pared celular (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · cy cellfur (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · ko 세포벽 (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · hu sejtfal (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · gl parede celular (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · br pale gellig (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · tr hücre çeperi (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · tl dinding ng sihay (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · fi soluseinä (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · is frumuveggur (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · nn cellevegg (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · nb cellevegg (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · vi vách tế bào (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · cy pared cell (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · af selwand (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · cmn 細胞壁 /细胞壁 (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · sv cellvägg (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · el κυτταρικό τοίχωμα (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · tr hücre duvarı (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · ru кле́точная сте́нка (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · pl ściana komórkowa (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · it parete cellulare (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · sk bunková stena (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · cs buněčná stěna (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · kmr dîwarê xaneyê (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · fr paroi cellulaire (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · da cellevæg (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · ca paret cel·lular (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · nl celwand (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · pt parede celular (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · de Zellwand (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · mi pātū pūtau (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae) · vi thành tế bào (thick layer around cells of plants, fungi, and algae)