ˈfiləmənt noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French, from Medieval Latin filamentum, from Late Latin filare to spin + Latin -mentum -ment — more at file
: a long thin flexible object that has a small cross section : a fiber of great or indefinite length: as
a.
(1) : the fine tenuous material of a spider web
(2) : one of the two continuous cores of the fiber of silk ; also : the whole fiber
(3) : a single continuous man-made fiber produced from a liquid bath (as by extrusion through a small orifice) and used either in the form of a monofilament or in groups for textile yarns with little or no twist or for cordage — often distinguished from staple
(4) : a slender barb of a down feather
b.
(1) : a metal wire drawn very fine
tungsten filaments
(2) : a fine conductor (as of carbon or metal) that is rendered incandescent by the passage of an electric current ; specifically : a cathode in the form of a metal wire in an electron tube heated by current passing through — see incandescent lamp illustration
c.
(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 cylindrical single cell (as of certain algae, fungi, and bacteria)
d. : the anther-bearing stalk of a stamen — see flower illustration
e. : a body in mathematics whose transverse dimensions are negligible compared with its length