[cell] n [ME, fr. OE, religious house and OF celle hermit's cell, fr. L cella small room; akin to L celare to conceal--more at hell] (12c) 1: a small religious house dependent on a monastery or convent
2. a: a one-room dwelling occupied by a solitary person (as a hermit) b: a single room (as in a convent or prison) usu. for one person
3: a small compartment, cavity, or bounded space: as a: one of the compartments of a honeycomb b: a membranous area bounded by veins in the wing of an insect
4: a small usu. microscopic mass of protoplasm bounded externally by a semipermeable membrane, usu. including one or more nuclei and various other organelles with their products, capable alone or interacting with other cells of performing all the fundamental functions of life, and forming the smallest structural unit of living matter capable of functioning independently
5. a (1): a receptacle (as a cup or jar) containing electrodes and an electrolyte either for generating electricity by chemical action or for use in electrolysis (2): fuel cell b: a single unit in a device for converting radiant energy into electrical energy or for varying the intensity of an electrical current in accordance with radiation
6: a unit in a statistical array (as a spreadsheet) formed by the intersection of a column and a row 7: the basic and usu. smallest unit of an organization or movement "a communist ~" 8: a portion of the atmosphere that behaves as a unit 9: any of the small sections of a geographic area of a cellular telephone system