Main Entry: my·ce·li·um

Pronunciation: \mī-ˈsē-lē-əm\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural -lia\-lē-ə\

Etymology: New Latin, from myc- + Greek hēlos nail, wart, callus

Date: 1836

: the mass of interwoven filamentous hyphae that forms especially the vegetative portion of the thallus of a fungus and is often submerged in another body (as of soil or organic matter or the tissues of a host); also : a similar mass of filaments formed by some bacteria (as streptomyces)

— my·ce·li·al \-əl\ adjective