mycelium

noun

my·​ce·​li·​um mī-ˈsē-lē-əm 

plural mycelia mī-ˈsē-lē-ə 

: 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

mī-ˈsē-lē-əl 

adjective

Examples of mycelium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

With its rhizomatic structure, mycelium proliferates through a constant cycle of decomposition and regeneration, which Mobarak related to the life cycles of human language. —Mariana Fernández, ARTnews.com, 18 Dec. 2024

The key decor piece of the hotel, meanwhile, is a mycelium leather art piece above the bar, made by Mycoworks. —Alyssa Hardy, Vogue, 26 Nov. 2024

Outdoors unveiled a streamlined version of this kit called the PACT Lite, which came with an even smaller, more ergonomic shovel that stores the mycelium tablets and wipes in its handle. —Jayme Moye, Outside Online, 19 Nov. 2024

Now, researchers have developed a building material made of mycelium—the tubular, branching filaments found in most fungi—and bacteria cells. —Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Apr. 2025

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

Rhymes for mycelium

• athenaeum
• coliseum
• colosseum
• mausoleum
• corneum
• hordeum
• luteum
• lyceum
• museum
• endothelium
• periosteum
• peritoneum

Kids Definition

mycelium

noun

my·​ce·​li·​um mī-ˈsē-lē-əm 

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

-lē-əl 

adjective

Medical Definition

mycelium

noun

my·​ce·​li·​um mī-ˈsē-lē-əm 

plural mycelia -lē-ə 

: 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)