mycelium

noun my·ce·li·um \ mī-ˈsē-lē-əm \

Updated on: 14 May 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)

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mycelial

play \-əl\ adjective

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Recent Examples of mycelium from the Web

In September, Ninela Ivanova, a British designer, and Sebastian Cox, a British furniture maker, exhibited hanging lamps and stools made of willow wood and mushrooms (or more technically, mycelium, the root network of fungi).

— New York Times, "Trends in Design and Home Furnishings," 8 May 2018
Ironically, light-moderate rain won’t penetrate a deep mulch volcano, and worse, fungal mycelium decomposing the mulch can create hydrophobic mats that repel water.

— ellen nibali, baltimoresun.com, "Garden Q&A: Mulch volcanoes are not what nature intended," 12 Apr. 2018
Not only will the Loft buildings be readily convertible to different uses, but they will also be insulated with mycelium!

— molly sauter, The Atlantic, "Google’s Guinea-Pig City," 13 Feb. 2018
Being able to just quickly regrow mycelium seems like a slightly too convenient plot device to fix what felt like a devastating end to the spore drive.

— darren orf, Popular Mechanics, "'Star Trek: Discovery' Take a Welcome Breather Before the Battles to Come," 5 Feb. 2018
Despite the drastic pH increase, its spores germinated into threadlike hyphal mycelium and grew equally well with or without concrete.

— congrui jin, Smithsonian, "With Fungi in the Mix, Concrete Can Fill Its Own Cracks," 23 Jan. 2018
Ecovative Design uses mycelium as a bonding agent to hold together wood particles for paneling, as well as for a durable, flame-retardant, and lightweight packaging.

— National Geographic, "Surprising New Uses for Mushrooms, From Houses to Packaging," 13 July 2016
The lamps are actually made from a mixture of corn stalk and hemp that is infused with live mycelium cells, the root structure of mushrooms.

— nina friend, Bon Appetit, "These Gorgeous Lamps Are Made Out of Edible Mushrooms," 6 July 2017
Bayer began working with mycelium as part of a school project in college to find a replacement for the toxic adhesive used in building manufacturing.

— jennifer nalewicki, Smithsonian, "Is Fungus the Material of the Future?," 5 Apr. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mycelium.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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.

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First Known Use: 1836

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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)