filament

C2 Topic:Materials & Substances

US /ˈfɪl.ə.mənt/ UK /ˈfɪl.ə.mənt/ See IPA manual

Freq #43970

Meanings

1

noun
a very thin thread or fiber of natural or manufactured material

The spider drew out a fine filament of silk between two branches.
2

noun
a thin wire that carries electric current, especially the glowing wire in an incandescent lamp

A broken filament caused the old incandescent bulb to go dark.
3

noun
in biology or astronomy, a long threadlike structure

Under the microscope, each fungal filament appeared as a chain of cells.
4

noun
in botany, the slender stalk of a stamen that supports the anther

The anther sits at the tip of the filament in a flower's stamen.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a very thin thread or fiber... thread fiber strand

2 noun · a thin wire that carries... wire

3 noun · in biology or astronomy, a... strand fiber

4 noun · in botany, the slender... stamen stalk

Word family

Forms filamentousfilaments

Derived forms filamentaryfilamentous

Related forms fiber strand stamen

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin filamentum, from Late Latin filare 'to spin or draw out', based on Latin filum 'thread' + -mentum, a noun-forming suffix.

Topics

Materials & Substances Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# filament

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈfɪl.ə.mənt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈfɪl.ə.mənt/
**Frequency rank:** 43970

## Meanings
1. a very thin thread or fiber of natural or manufactured material
2. a thin wire that carries electric current, especially the glowing wire in an incandescent lamp
3. in biology or astronomy, a long threadlike structure
4. in botany, the slender stalk of a stamen that supports the anther

## Examples
- The spider drew out a fine filament of silk between two branches.
- A broken filament caused the old incandescent bulb to go dark.
- Under the microscope, each fungal filament appeared as a chain of cells.
- The anther sits at the tip of the filament in a flower's stamen.

## Synonyms
- thread
- fiber
- strand

## Derived Forms
- filamentary
- filamentous

## Related Forms
- fiber
- strand
- stamen

## Etymology
Borrowed from Medieval Latin filamentum, from Late Latin filare 'to spin or draw out', based on Latin filum 'thread' + -mentum, a noun-forming suffix.

## Topics
- Materials & Substances
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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