nucleus
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
nucleus /ˈnjuːklɪəs/
▶noun (pl. nuclei /-lɪʌɪ/)
- 1 the central and most important part of an object or group.
- 2 Physics the positively charged central core of an atom, containing nearly all its mass.
- 3 Biology a structure present in most cells, containing the genetic material.
- 4 a discrete mass of grey matter in the central nervous system.
– origin C18: from L., lit. ‘kernel, inner part’, dimin. of nux, nuc- ‘nut’.
'nucleus' also found in these Oxford entries:
alpha particle
- amitotic
- atom
- atomic number
- bacterium
- binding energy
- bremsstrahlung
- cell
- centriole
- centrosome
- coma
- comet
- cosmic ray
- craton
- cytoplasm
- desmid
- deuteron
- diploid
- disintegration
- enucleate
- erythroblast
- erythrocyte
- eukaryote
- fission
- fusion
- geniculate body
- haploid
- karyo-
- karyokinesis
- lentiform nucleus
- lymphocyte
- mass number
- mitosis
- monocyte
- mononuclear
- nucellus
- nuclear
- nuclear force
- nucleate
- nuclei
- nucleo-
- nucleolus
- nuclide
- olivary
- orbit
- platelet
- polymorphonuclear
- prokaryote
- protoplasm
