fil|a|ment

fil|a|ment «FIHL uh muhnt», noun.

1. a very fine thread; very slender part that is like a thread: »

the delicate filaments of a spider's web.

2. the threadlike wire that gives off light in an electric light bulb.

3. the heated wire that acts as a negative electrode in a vacuum tube. In some vacuum tubes, the filament also acts as the cathode.

4. Botany. a) the stalklike part of a stamen that supports the anther, usually slender and threadlike, but quite variable in form. b) a very long, thin cell or a series of very long, thin cells, especially in various algae and fungi.

5. one of the fine barbs of a down feather.

6. a continuous strand of yarn of a synthetic, such as acetate, which may be used in weaving without spinning.

╂[< Late Latin fīlāmentum < fīlāre spin < Latin fīlum thread]