ˈsilēəm noun
( plural cil·ia -ēə ; also ciliums )
Etymology: New Latin, from Latin, eyelid — more at cilia
1. : eyelash
2. : a minute hairlike process often forming a fringe (as between the teeth of the moss peristome or on the margins of many leaves)
3. : a hairlike process found on many cells that is capable of vibratory or lashing movement and that serves in free-swimming unicellular organisms and in some small multicellular forms as an organ of locomotion or in the higher animal as a producer of a current of fluid (as in the human external nares, trachea, and bronchi where ciliated cells beating constantly toward the nose assist in removal of mucus and dust particles)
4. : a barbicel of a feather