Related Searches
Nearby Words
Synonyms

filament

 [fil-uh-muhnt]   Example Sentences Origin

fil·a·ment

   [fil-uh-muhnt]
noun
1.
a very fine thread or threadlike structure; a fiber or fibril: filaments of gold.
2.
a single fibril of natural or synthetic textile fiber, of indefinite length, sometimes several miles long.
3.
a long slender cell or series of attached cells, as in some algae and fungi.
4.
Botany. the stalklike portion of a stamen, supporting the anther.
5.
Ornithology. the barb of a down feather.
EXPAND
6.
(in a light bulb or other incandescent lamp) the threadlike conductor, often of tungsten, in the bulb that is heated to incandescence by the passage of current.
7.
Electronics. the heating element (sometimes also acting as a cathode) of a vacuum tube, resembling the filament in an incandescent bulb.
8.
Astronomy. a solar prominence, as viewed within the sun's limb.
COLLAPSE
Origin:
1585–95; < Neo-Latin fīlāmentum, equivalent to Late Latin fīlā(re) to wind thread, spin (see file1) + Latin -mentum -ment

Related forms
fil·a·ment·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To filament

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Filament is always a great word to know.
So is hair root. Does it mean:
part of a hair that is embedded in a hair follicle
something shaped like a narrow crescent, as the small, pale area at the base of the fingernail
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Example Sentences
  • The hotter a light bulb filament gets, the greater the intensity of the light.
  • They could refuse to light up for no apparent reason, because of some infinitesimal rupture in the filament.
  • Both halogen and incandescent bulbs produce light by heating a tungsten filament with an electrical current.
EXPAND
Collins
World English Dictionary
filament (ˈfɪləmənt)
 
—n
1.  the thin wire, usually tungsten, inside a light bulb that emits light when heated to incandescence by an electric current
2.  electronics a high-resistance wire or ribbon, forming the cathode in some valves
3.  a single strand of a natural or synthetic fibre; fibril
4.  botany
 a.  the stalk of a stamen
 b.  any of the long slender chains of cells into which some algae and fungi are divided
5.  ornithol the barb of a down feather
6.  anatomy any slender structure or part, such as the tail of a spermatozoon; filum
7.  astronomy
 a.  a long structure of relatively cool material in the solar corona
 b.  a long large-scale cluster of galaxies
 
[C16: from New Latin fīlāmentum, from Medieval Latin fīlāre to spin, from Latin fīlum thread]
 
filamentary
 
—adj
 
fila'mentous
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

filament
1594, from Mod.L. filamentum, from L.L. filare "to spin, draw out in a long line," from L. filum "thread" (see file (v.)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

filament fil·a·ment (fĭl'ə-mənt)
n.
A fibril, fine fiber, or threadlike structure.

fil'a·men'tous (-měn'təs) or fil'a·men'ta·ry (-měn'tə-rē, -měn'trē) adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
filament   (fĭl'ə-mənt)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. A fine or slender thread, wire, or fiber.

  2. The part of a stamen that supports the anther of a flower; the stalk of a stamen. See more at flower.

    1. A fine wire that gives off radiation when an electric current is passed through it, usually to provide light, as in an incandescent bulb, or to provide heat, as in a vacuum tube.

    2. A wire that acts as the cathode in some electron tubes when it is heated with an electric current.

  4. Any of the dark, sinuous lines visible through certain filters on the disk of the Sun. Filaments are solar prominences that are viewed against the solar surface rather than being silhouetted along the outer edges of the disk. See more at prominence.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Partners:WordBloglinesCitysearchThe Daily BeastAsk AnswersAsk KidsLife123SendoriThesaurus
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT
How many words do you know? FIND OUT