columella

See also: Columella

English

As an example in malacology, this X-ray of a marine snail shell shows the columella as the dense central spiral passing down the core of the shell.

Etymology

From Latin columella (“small column”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˌkɒləˈmɛlə/
Audio (US) (file)
Rhymes: -ɛlə

Noun

columella (plural columellas or columellae)

(biology) Any of various small structures in plants or animals that are columnar in shape.
(anatomy) The skin at the end of the septum which separates the nostrils.
(comparative anatomy) In birds, reptiles, and amphibians, the small bone which carries vibration from the tympanum to the inner ear.
(malacology) In gastropods, the structure that extends down the middle of the whorls of the shell.
(coral science) The structure at the center of the calyx where the septa join together.
(mycology) The central sterile portion of the sporangium in various fungi.
(palynology) A rod-shaped reinforcing element of the sexine layer of a pollen grain.

Derived terms

columella nasi
columellar
columellate
columelloid

Translations

any of various small structures in plants or animals

Finnish: kolumella
French: columelle (fr)
Romanian: columelă (ro) f
Spanish: columela f

skin at the end of the septum

Finnish: kolumella
Romanian: columelă (ro) f
Spanish: columela f

central sterile portion of the sporangium

Finnish: keskipatsas, kolumella
Romanian: columelă (ro) f
Spanish: columela f

References

“columella”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, →ISBN.

Italian

Etymology

From Latin columella.

Noun

columella f (plural columelle)

(biology, anatomy, zoology) columella, modiolus
(anatomy) stapes, stirrup bone, stirrup

Synonyms

(columella bone): modiolo
(stirrup bone): staffa

Latin

Alternative forms

columnella

Etymology

From columna +‎ -la or columen +‎ -la.

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /ko.luˈmel.la/, [kɔɫ̪ʊˈmɛlːʲä]

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ko.luˈmel.la/, [koluˈmɛlːä]

Noun

columella f (genitive columellae); first declension

Diminutive of columna: a small column or pillar

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	columella	columellae
Genitive	columellae	columellārum
Dative	columellae	columellīs
Accusative	columellam	columellās
Ablative	columellā	columellīs
Vocative	columella	columellae

Descendants

French: coulemelle
→ English: columella
→ Italian: columella
→ Portuguese: columela
→ Translingual: Columella

References

“columella”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“columella”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
columella in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
“columella”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
columella in Ramminger, Johann (accessed 16 July 2016) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎, pre-publication website, 2005-2016