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flagellate

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flag⋅el⋅late

[v. flaj-uh-leyt; adj., n. flaj-uh-lit, -leyt] verb, -lat⋅ed, -lat⋅ing, adjective, noun
–verb (used with object)
1. to whip; scourge; flog; lash.
–adjective
2. Also, flag⋅el⋅lat⋅ed. Biology. having flagella.
3. Botany. producing filiform runners or runnerlike branches, as the strawberry.
4. pertaining to or caused by flagellates.
–noun
5. any protozoan of the phylum (or class) Mastigophora, having one or more flagella.

Origin:
1615–25; < L flagellātus, ptp. of flagellāre to whip. See flagellum, -ate 1


flag⋅el⋅la⋅tor, noun
flag⋅el⋅la⋅to⋅ry [flaj-uh-luh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To flagellate
flag·el·late   (flāj'ə-lāt')   
tr.v.   flag·el·lat·ed, flag·el·lat·ing, flag·el·lates
  1. To whip or flog; scourge.

  2. To punish or impel as if by whipping.

adj.   (-lĭt, -lāt', flə-jěl'ĭt)
  1. Biology Flagellated.

  2. Resembling or having the form of a flagellum; whiplike.

  3. Relating to or caused by a flagellate organism.

n.   (-lĭt, -lāt', flə-jěl'ĭt)
An organism, such as a euglena, that is equipped with a flagellum.

[Latin flagellāre, flagellāt-, to whip, from flagellum, diminutive of flagrum, whip.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1fla·gel·late
Pronunciation: 'flaj-&-l&t, -"lAt; fl&-'jel-&t
Function: adjective
1 a or flag·el·lat·ed /'flaj-&-"lAt-&d/ : having flagella b : shaped like a flagellum
2 : of, relating to, orcaused by flagellates <flagellate diarrhea>

Main Entry: 2flagellate
Function: noun
: a flagellate protozoan or alga
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

flagellate flag·el·late (flāj'ə-lĭt, -lāt', flə-jěl'ĭt)
adj.

  1. Flagellated.

  2. Relating to or caused by a flagellate organism.

n.
A member of the class Mastigophora, comprising organisms having a flagellum.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Encyclopedia

flagellate

(subphylum Mastigophora), any of a group of protozoans, mostly uninucleate organisms, that possess, at some time in the life cycle, one to many flagella for locomotion and sensation. (A flagellum is a hairlike structure capable of whiplike lashing movements that furnish locomotion.) Many flagellates have a thin, firm pellicle (outer covering) or a coating of a jellylike substance. Reproduction is either asexual (usually by longitudinal splitting) or sexual. The flagellates are divided taxonomically into two classes, those resembling plants, Phytomastigophorea (see phytoflagellate), and those resembling animals, Zoomastigophorea (see zooflagellate).

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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