n.
Pronunciation: ' fi-l ə -m ə nt
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French, from Medieval Latin filamentum, from Late Latin filare to spin ― more at FILE
Date: 1594
: a single thread or a thin flexible threadlike object, process, or appendage: as a : a tenuous conductor (as of carbon or metal) made incandescent by the passage of an electric current specifically : a cathode in the form of a metal wire in an electron tube b (1) : a thin and fine elongated constituent part of a gill (2) : an elongated thin series of cells attached one to another or a very long thin cylindrical single cell (as of some algae, fungi, or bacteria) c : the anther-bearing stalk of a stamen ― see FLOWER illustration
– fil · a · men · ta · ry \ ˌ fil- ə - ' men-t( ə -)r ē \ adjective
– fil · a · men · tous \ - ' men-t ə s \ adjective