motile

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
8
Words With Friends
10
Letters
6
Pronunciation
/ˈməʊtaɪl/

Definition of motile

5 senses · 2 parts of speech · etymology included

adj

  1. In organisms: having the power to move spontaneously.
    “It seemed to him that, if there were a Holy Trinity as the churches taught, this must be unified through a manner of capillary action, Father merging into Son and both into Holy Ghost. So God is motile as the blood is.”
    “And even if they use condoms, Wendell is young. His sperm is likely to be extremely motile.”
    “2010 Steven M. Carr: Origin of Evolutionary Novelty, The Garstang Hypothesis Memorial University of Newfoundland Modern As (Subphylum Urochordata) typically have a motile tadpole larva that undergoes metamorphosis to a sessile adult.”
See all 5 definitions

adj

  1. In organisms: having the power to move spontaneously.
    “It seemed to him that, if there were a Holy Trinity as the churches taught, this must be unified through a manner of capillary action, Father merging into Son and both into Holy Ghost. So God is motile as the blood is.”
    “And even if they use condoms, Wendell is young. His sperm is likely to be extremely motile.”
    “2010 Steven M. Carr: Origin of Evolutionary Novelty, The Garstang Hypothesis Memorial University of Newfoundland Modern As (Subphylum Urochordata) typically have a motile tadpole larva that undergoes metamorphosis to a sessile adult.”
  2. In organs or organelles: capable of producing motion.
    “Flagella and cilia are structurally conserved motile organelles found on diverse cell types, ranging from single-celled protozoa and algae to multicellular tissues in vertebrates. They have diverse roles, for example, they can propel cells such as sperm through their environment or move fluid across a cell surface, as in ciliated epithelia such as the respiratory tract and oviduct.”
  3. In organs: having the power to move their contents, or to change their shape or tension by writhing or contracting as required by their particular physiological functions.
  4. Of or relating to those mental images that arise from the sensations of bodily movement and position.

noun

  1. A person whose prevailing mental imagery takes the form of inner feelings of action, such as incipient pronunciation of words, muscular innervations, etc.

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁-der. Proto-Italic *moweō Latin moveō Latin mōtus English -ile English motile From Latin mōtus, perfect passive participle of moveō (“to move”) (English move), + -ile.

Anagrams of motile

2 plays · some not in Scrabble

Hooks

1 extension · 1 back

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