■ noun
1》 a small room in which a prisoner is locked up or in which a monk or nun sleeps.
↘ historical a small monastery dependent on a larger one.
2》 a small compartment in a larger structure such as a honeycombining
3》 Biology the smallest structural and functional unit of an organism, consisting of cytoplasm and a nucleus enclosed in a membrane.
4》 a small group forming a nucleus of political activity: terrorist ~s.
5》 a device containing electrodes immersed in an electrolyte, used for current generation or electrolysis.
↘a unit in a device for converting chemical energy or light into electricity.
6》 the local area covered by one of the short-range transmitters in a ~ular telephone system.
Derivatives
-~ed adjective
Origin
OE, from OFr. ~e or L. ~a 'storeroom or chamber'.