septum

C1 Topic:Animals

US /ˈseptəm/ UK /ˈsɛptəm/ See IPA manual

Freq #38530

Meanings

1

noun
a wall or partition separating two cavities or regions in an animal or plant body

A thin septum separates the two chambers of the structure.
2

noun
the partition of cartilage and bone between the two sides of the nose

The scan showed that the patient's nasal septum curved to the left.
3

noun
botany and microbiology: a cross-wall dividing cells, compartments, or chambers in a plant, fungus, alga, or fruit

Under the microscope, a green septum was visible across the filament.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a wall or partition... partitiondividing walldissepiment

2 noun · the partition of cartilage... nasal septum

3 noun · botany and microbiology: a... cross-wallcell partition

Word family

Forms septa

Derived forms septalseptateseptationseptumless

Related forms nasal septummembranecell walldissepiment

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

nasal septum
the wall of bone and cartilage separating the two nasal cavities

Adjective + noun

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin septum, 'enclosure, wall, or fence,' related to saepire, 'to enclose.' Anatomy, botany, and microbiology use the word for a partition that divides neighboring cavities, chambers, or cells. The regular English plural is septums; scientific writing also uses Latin septa.

Topics

Animals

External links

# septum

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈseptəm/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈsɛptəm/
**Frequency rank:** 38530

## Meanings
1. a wall or partition separating two cavities or regions in an animal or plant body
2. the partition of cartilage and bone between the two sides of the nose
3. botany and microbiology: a cross-wall dividing cells, compartments, or chambers in a plant, fungus, alga, or fruit

## Examples
- A thin septum separates the two chambers of the structure.
- The scan showed that the patient's nasal septum curved to the left.
- Under the microscope, a green septum was visible across the filament.

## Synonyms
- partition
- dividing wall
- dissepiment
- cross-wall

## Derived Forms
- septal
- septate
- septation
- septumless

## Related Forms
- nasal septum
- membrane
- cell wall
- dissepiment

## Etymology
Borrowed from Latin septum, 'enclosure, wall, or fence,' related to saepire, 'to enclose.' Anatomy, botany, and microbiology use the word for a partition that divides neighboring cavities, chambers, or cells. The regular English plural is septums; scientific writing also uses Latin septa.

## Topics
- Animals

markdown