Webster's English Dictionary

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cell

cell \'sel\ \'seld\ n [ME, fr. OE, religious house and OF celle hermit's 
   cell, fr. L cellaX small room; akin to L celare to conceal - more at HELL 
   1: a small religious house dependent on a monastery or convent  2a: a 
   one-room dwelling occupied by a solitary person (as a hermit)  2b: a single 
   room usu. for one person (as in a convent or prison)  3: a small 
   compartment (as in a honeycomb), receptacle (as the calyculus of  a polyp), 
   cavity (as in a plant ovary), or bounded space (as in an insect wing) 4: a 
   small usu. microscopic mass of protoplasm bounded externally by a semi 
   permeable membrane, usu. including one or more nuclei and various nonliving 
   products, capable alone or interacting with other cells of performing all 
   the fundamental functions of life, and forming the least structural 
   aggregate of living matter capable of functioning as an independent unit 5: 
   a receptacle (as a cup or jar) containing electrodes and an electrolyte  
   either for generating electricity by chemical action or for use in 
   electrolysis 6: a set of points in one-to-one correspondence with a set in 
   a euclidean s pace of any number of dimensions 7: the basic and usu. 
   smallest unit of an organization or movement; esp)X : the primary unit of a 
   Communist organization 8: a portion of the atmosphere that behaves as a 
   unit  9: a single unit in a device for converting radiant energy into 
   electrical  energy or for varying the intensity of an electrical current in 
   accordance with radiation - celled aj