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mycelium

noun my·ce·li·um \ mī-ˈsē-lē-əm \
|Updated on: 25 Jun 2018

Definition of mycelium

plural mycelia play \-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

play \-əl\ adjective

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Recent Examples of mycelium from the Web

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Origin and Etymology of mycelium

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.

Medical Dictionary

mycelium

noun my·ce·li·um \ mī-ˈsē-lē-əm \

medical Definition of mycelium

plural -lia play \-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)

Illustration of mycelium

illustration of mycelium

Learn More about mycelium

  1. Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about mycelium

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