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organelle

noun

  1. organized cell-level biological structure of distinctive morphology and function
L295957 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˌɔɹ.ɡənˈɛl/

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *werǵ-der. Ancient Greek ὄργανον (órganon)bor. Latin organumder. Old French organebor. Middle English organe English organ English -elle English organelle From organ + -elle.

  1. A specialized structure found inside cells that carries out a specific life process (e.g. ribosomes, vacuoles).

    Like organelles within a single cell, whole new specializations began to develop.

    The close analogies between DNA-containing eukaryotic cell organelles and microbial symbionts require revision of classic cell theory, wrote Scwemmler and Schenk (1980) on introducing the field of endocytobiology.