cell-poor
|cell-poor|
🇺🇸
/ˈsɛlˌpɔr/
🇬🇧
/ˈsɛlˌpɔː/
having few cells
Etymology
'cell-poor' originates from modern English, specifically formed from the noun 'cell' and the adjective 'poor'. 'cell' originates from Latin 'cella' where 'cella' meant 'small room'; 'poor' originates from Old French 'povre', from Latin 'pauper' where 'pauper' meant 'impoverished'.
'cell' passed into English from Latin 'cella' (via Old French/Medieval Latin) and came to be used in biology for the basic unit of life; 'poor' came from Old French 'povre' (from Latin 'pauper') and evolved in Middle English to 'poor'. The compound 'cell-poor' is a modern English formation used in medical and scientific contexts to describe low cellularity.
Initially, 'cella' meant 'small room' and 'pauper' meant 'impoverished'; over time 'cell' developed a biological sense ('basic unit of living organisms') and 'poor' a general sense of 'lacking', so the compound came to mean 'lacking in cells' or 'having few cells'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
containing relatively few cells; having low cellularity (used of tissues, fluid samples, or areas in histology/hematology).
The bone marrow sample was cell-poor, showing sparse cellularity on microscopy.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/10/04 01:12