thick-septate
|thick-sept-ate|
/ˌθɪkˈsɛp.teɪt/
having thick internal partitions
Etymology
'thick-septate' is a compound of 'thick' (Old English origin meaning 'having great depth or density') and 'septate' (formed in modern scientific English from Latin 'septum', meaning 'partition').
'septate' derives from Latin 'septum' (a partition), passing through New Latin/19th-century scientific usage as 'septatus'/'septate' meaning 'having a septum'; combined with the English adjective 'thick' to form the compound descriptive term 'thick-septate' in technical biological contexts.
Originally, Latin 'septum' meant 'a fence or partition'; over time it came to denote cellular partitions in biology, and 'septate' evolved to mean 'having septa', with 'thick-septate' specifying the thickness of those partitions.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
having relatively thick septa (cross-walls) between cells or compartments; used chiefly in mycology and microscopy to describe hyphae or spores.
The specimen displayed thick-septate hyphae when examined under the microscope.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/09/06 13:55