. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
you have here. The definition of the word
will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Translingual
Symbol
cel
( international standards ) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-5 language code for Celtic languages .
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Clipping of celluloid .
Noun
cel (plural cels )
A piece of celluloid on which has been drawn a frame of an animated film .
2008 June 22, Michael Hirschorn, “Success Story 2”, in New York Times :After Jobs’s $5 million offer was rejected, the team attempted to do a deal with Disney, then a bastion of hand-painted cel animation.
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Clipping of celibate .
Noun
cel (plural cels )
Clipping of celibacy or celibate .
Synonyms
Derived terms
Anagrams
Catalan
Etymology
Inherited from Latin caelum , from Proto-Italic *kailom , from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂i-lom ( “ whole ” ) , from *keh₂i- . Compare Occitan cèl .
Pronunciation
Noun
cel m (plural cels )
sky
heaven
Derived terms
Further reading
“cel ”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies , 2007 April
“cel ”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana , Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana , 2025.
“cel” in Diccionari normatiu valencià , Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua .
“cel” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear , Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Crimean Tatar
Noun
cel
( Northern dialect ) gale , wind
Usage notes
Declension
Czech
Pronunciation
Noun
cel f
genitive plural of cela
Noun
cel n
genitive plural of clo
Verb
cel
second-person singular imperative of celit
Dutch
Etymology
From Middle Dutch celle , from Latin cella .
Pronunciation
Noun
cel f (plural cellen , diminutive celletje n )
cell ( a compartment )
component of a battery
( biology ) component of a body tissue
( architecture ) a small room , such as a prison or cloister cell
( entomology ) cell – of a honeycomb
( computer science ) cell – of a table
Synonyms
Derived terms
Descendants
Afrikaans: sel
→ Indonesian: sel
→ Papiamentu: sèl
Latvian
Verb
cel
inflection of celt :
second-person singular present indicative
second-person singular imperative
Lombard
Etymology
From Latin caelum .
Noun
cel m
( Old Lombard ) sky
( Old Lombard ) heaven
Old French
Etymology
From an earlier cil , from Vulgar Latin *ecce ille , a compound of Latin ecce and ille . Largely replaced cist used in earlier Old French.
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : ( unstressed ) /t͡səl/
IPA (key ) : ( stressed ) /ˈt͡sɛl/
Adjective
cel m (oblique and nominative feminine singular cele )
this ( the one in question )
Declension
Synonyms
cist (chiefly 12th and 13th centuries)
Descendants
Old Occitan
Etymology
From Latin caelum .
Noun
cel m
Heaven
Descendants
Old Polish
Etymology
Borrowed from Old Czech cíl . First attested in the fifteenth century.
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : ( 10th –15th CE ) /t͡sɛːlʲ/
IPA (key ) : ( 15th CE ) /t͡selʲ/
Noun
cel m animacy unattested
target ( butt or mark to shoot at, as for practice, or to test the accuracy of a firearm, or the force of a projectile )
Derived terms
Descendants
References
^ Stanisław Dubisz , editor (2003 ), “cel ”, in Uniwersalny słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volumes 1-4 , Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN SA, →ISBN
^ Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000 ) “cel ”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego (in Polish)
Boryś, Wiesław (2005 ) “cel ”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN
B. Sieradzka-Baziur , Ewa Deptuchowa , Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015 ), “cel ”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN , →ISBN
Polish
Pronunciation
Rhymes: -ɛl
Syllabification: cel
Etymology 1
Inherited from Old Polish cel . Compare German Ziel .
Noun
cel m inan
goal , aim , objective , target ( that which one attempts to achieve )
target ( butt or mark to shoot at, as for practice, or to test the accuracy of a firearm, or the force of a projectile )
target , aim ( person or object that is the focus of one's actions )
goal , aim , objective ; destination ( place where one would like to go )
( archaic , firearms ) foresight ( front sight of a rifle )
Synonym: muszka
( Middle Polish ) end point, borderline
( Middle Polish ) deadline
Synonym: termin
( Middle Polish ) racetrack ; stadium
( Middle Polish ) measuring instrument for determining the direction of a straight line (Is there an English equivalent to this definition?)
( Middle Polish ) respect
Synonyms: poważanie , szacunek
( Middle Polish ) abyss
Synonym: przepaść
Declension
Derived terms
Descendants
Trivia
According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), cel is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 79 times in scientific texts, 69 times in news, 85 times in essays, 15 times in fiction, and 18 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 266 times, making it the 190th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.
References
^ Ida Kurcz (1990 ) “cel ”, in Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (in Polish), volume 1, Kraków, Warszawa: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Języka Polskiego, page 42
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Noun
cel f
genitive plural of cela
Further reading
cel in Wielki słownik języka polskiego , Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
cel in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Maria Renata Mayenowa , Stanisław Rospond , Witold Taszycki , Stefan Hrabec , Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023 ) “cel ”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku
Krystyna Siekierska (22.01.2019 ) “CEL ”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku
Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814 ) “cel ”, in Słownik języka polskiego
Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861 ) “cel ”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
J. Karłowicz , A. Kryński , W. Niedźwiedzki , editors (1900 ), “cel ”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw, page 259
Portuguese
Etymology
Clipping of celular .
Pronunciation
Noun
cel m (plural cels )
( Brazil , Internet slang ) mobile phone
Synonym: celular
Romanian
Etymology
From acel .
Pronunciation
Determiner
cel m or n (feminine singular cea , masculine plural cei , feminine and neuter plural cele )
( popular ) that
Synonyms: acel , acela , ăl , ăla
Declension
Declension of cel determiner declension, indefinite only
singular
plural
masculine
neuter
feminine
masculine
neuter
feminine
nominative- accusative
indefinite
cel
cea
cei
cele
definite
—
—
—
—
genitive- dative
indefinite
celui
celei
celor
celor
definite
—
—
—
—
Article
cel m or n (feminine singular cea , masculine plural cei , feminine and neuter plural cele )
the
Declension
Declension of cel determiner declension, indefinite only
singular
plural
masculine
neuter
feminine
masculine
neuter
feminine
nominative- accusative
indefinite
cel
cea
cei
cele
definite
—
—
—
—
genitive- dative
indefinite
celui
celei
celor
celor
definite
—
—
—
—
Pronoun
cel m or n (feminine singular cea , masculine plural cei , feminine and neuter plural cele )
the one (that is)
Declension
Declension of cel determiner declension, indefinite only
singular
plural
masculine
neuter
feminine
masculine
neuter
feminine
nominative- accusative
indefinite
cel
cea
cei
cele
definite
—
—
—
—
genitive- dative
indefinite
celui
celei
celor
celor
definite
—
—
—
—
Derived terms
Slovene
Pronunciation
Adjective
cẹ̑ł (not comparable )
whole
Declension
This adjective needs an inflection-table template .
Further reading
“cel ”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2025
Spanish
Etymology
Clipping of celular .
Pronunciation
Noun
cel m (plural celes )
( Latin America , US , Philippines ) cell phone , mobile phone
Synonym: celular
Volapük
Pronunciation
Noun
cel (nominative plural cels )
cherry
Declension
1 status as a case is disputed2 in later, non-classical Volapük only