• Question: Where did the word "Cell" originate from?

    Asked by Lewis345 to Triona on 11 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Tríona O'Connell

      Tríona O'Connell answered on 11 Nov 2014:


      I think it was from the original work by Leuvenhoek, where he looked at cork and saw that it was composed of lots of tiny rooms or cells. I’d have to double check that I’m right though.
      ….

      Wikipedia says im only half right, and that I should be crediting Robert Hooke instead “In 1665 Hooke published Micrographia, a book describing observations made with microscopes and telescopes, as well as some original work in biology. Hooke coined the term cell for describing biological organisms, the term being suggested by the resemblance of plant cells to cells of a honeycomb”

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