mycelium

noun

my·​ce·​li·​um mī-ˈsē-lē-əm How to pronounce mycelium (audio)
plural mycelia mī-ˈsē-lē-ə How to pronounce mycelium (audio)
: 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 (such as streptomyces)
mycelial adjective

Examples of mycelium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Already, exciting innovations are using natural materials — such as processing residues, algae, and mycelium — to produce plastic alternatives. Danielle Nierenberg, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2023 The fight within the mushroom industry right now is over whether companies can define mycelium as mushrooms. Robert Johnson, Rolling Stone, 26 Oct. 2023 In fact, they were made of compressed wood chips bound with a mixture of limestone and cement or with a fungus called mycelium. Saima May Sidik, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Jan. 2024 The clumps were mycelium, the root-like threads of fungi that grow underground and give rise to mushrooms. Gabe Allen, Discover Magazine, 28 Nov. 2023 That’s made from some 500 sheets of Reishi, a leather alternative sourced from mycelium, aka the root of mushrooms. Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 28 Nov. 2023 Proponents say the mycelium is technically a mushroom and offers nutritional and bioactive compounds that benefit human health. Robert Johnson, Rolling Stone, 26 Oct. 2023 Using a biological material like mycelium has enormous benefits, says senior author Everson Kandare. Timmy Broderick, Scientific American, 9 Sep. 2023 Some mushroom products are made with fruiting bodies, others with underground parts of the organism like the mycelium or substrate (the material that the mushroom is in), which obviously makes the product cheaper to manufacture but gives the end consumer fewer health benefits. Robert Johnson, Rolling Stone, 22 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mycelium.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, from myc- (from base of Greek mykēt-, mýkēs "mushroom, fungus") + -el- (of unknown origin) + -ium -ium — more at myco-

Note: Term introduced by the Austrian botanist and mycologist Leopold Trattinnick (1764-1849) in Fungi Austriaci, ad specimina viva cera expressi descriptiones ac historiam naturalem completam addidit Leopoldus Trattinnick/Oesterreichs Schwämme, nach lebendigen Originalen in Wachs gearbeitet mit Beschreibungen und einer ausführlichen Naturgeschichte, 1. Lieferung (Vienna, 1804). Trattinnick, who uses the word throughout the work, gives no indication of its derivation. His translation in the parallel vernacular columns is Schwammgewächs, literally, "mushroom growth." The reading of -el- as Greek hêlos "nail head, wart, callus," apparently first proposed in the Century Dictionary and copied by many dictionaries since, is improbable and in any case purely speculative. Somewhat more probable is the suggestion in the Oxford English Dictionary that the interposed -l- is after epithelium.

First Known Use

1836, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mycelium was in 1836

Dictionary Entries Near mycelium

Cite this Entry

“Mycelium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mycelium. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

mycelium

noun
my·​ce·​li·​um mī-ˈsē-lē-əm How to pronounce mycelium (audio)
plural mycelia
-lē-ə
: the part of the body of a fungus that does not reproduce and usually consists of a mass of hyphae that are often growing in something else (as soil, organic matter, or the tissues of a plant or animal host)
mycelial adjective

Medical Definition

mycelium

noun
my·​ce·​li·​um mī-ˈsē-lē-əm How to pronounce mycelium (audio)
plural mycelia -lē-ə How to pronounce mycelium (audio)
: the mass of interwoven filamentous hyphae that forms especially the vegetative body 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 of the genus Streptomyces)

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