English
cellulose
Cellulose comes from French cellule ‘cell’, from Latin cellula ‘small room, especially that of a slave’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- ‘to cover’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱel-1‘to cover’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcella1‘a small room, a hut, storeroom’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcellula1‘small room, especially that of a slave’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcellule1‘cell’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcellulose1
- Englishtodaycellulose1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English cellulose
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱel-Wiktionary, English cellulose‘to cover’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcellaWiktionary, English cellulose‘a small room, a hut, storeroom’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcellulaWiktionary, English cellulose‘small room, especially that of a slave’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcelluleWiktionary, English cellulose‘cell’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcelluloseWiktionary, English cellulose
- EnglishtodaycelluloseWiktionary, English cellulose
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- ‘to cover’
color, hell, hole, hall, holder, ceiling, halt, helmet, holden, hull, hollow, uphold, helm, conceal, clandestine, occult, sari, sala, cilia, recline, declination, declension, holing, tricolour, haugh, halberd, hele, seel, 35 more
through Latin cella ‘a small room, a hut, storeroom’
Today it means
noun A complex carbohydrate that forms the main constituent of the cell wall in most plants and is important in the manufacture of numerous products, such as paper, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and explosives.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “cellulose”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- / cellulose