From Latin 'cella' (small room) — Robert Hooke coined the biological sense in 1665, thinking cork cells resembled monk's rooms.
Definition
A small room, especially in a prison or monastery; the smallest structural and functional unit of an organism; a device that converts chemical or solar energy into electricity.
The Full Story
Latin12th centurywell-attested
From Old English 'cell' and Old French 'celle,' both from Latin 'cella' (a small room, a storeroom, a granary, a compartment for storing wine or oil). The Latin word derives from PIE *ḱel- (to cover, to conceal, to hide — the root of a covered space). Robert Hooke coined the biological sense in 1665 when he observed thin sections of cork through his
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Robert Hooke named biological cells in 1665 because the box-like structures he saw in cork reminded him of the small bare rooms (cellae) where monks lived in monasteries. He was looking at dead plant cells — just the rigid cell walls — and the metaphor of tiny empty rooms was literally accurate for what he saw.
'kalýptein' (to cover, to conceal — source of 'apocalypse,' an uncovering). 'Cellar' is a direct Latin-derived doublet. Key roots: cella (Latin: "small room, storeroom, inner chamber of a temple"), *ḱel- (Proto-Indo-European: "to cover, to conceal, to hide").
cella(Latin (small room, storeroom — direct source))cellar(English (from Latin cellarium — doublet))celare(Latin (to hide, conceal — related verb, same PIE root))Zelle(German (cell — from same Latin cella))cellule(French (small cell — diminutive of même source))