neuron

UK/ˈnjʊəɹɒn/US/ˈn(j)ʊɹɑn/

nounB2+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,530 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: neurons

A neuron is a single nerve cell carrying signals through the brain. Millions of neurons, a motor neuron, neurons fire.

A human brain holds something like eighty-six billion of them, and each may connect to thousands of others, which is where the real complexity lies. The signal is electrical along the cell and chemical across the gap to the next one.

Definitions of neuron

1nounneuronA single nerve cell carrying signals through the brain.B2+
“Damage to the neurons in the spinal cord can cause paralysis.”

neuron is a cell.

Where it comes from

Greek neuron means a sinew or nerve. Nerve and sinew are both relatives of the same root.

Proto-Indo-European
*(s)neh₁-
Ancient Greek
νεῦρον — nerve
English, today
neuron

From New Latin -, from Ancient Greek νεῦρον (“nerve”), a doublet of nerve and sinew. by surface analysis, neuro- + -on.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Science & Space

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neuron in the wild

A neuron (American English), neurone (British English), or nerve cell, is a cell that is excitable, firing electric signals called action potentials.
Neuron
When multiple neurons are functionally connected together, they form what is called a neural circuit.
Neuron
Chemical synapses allow neurons to form circuits within the central nervous system.
Chemical synapse
The axons from the lower motor neurons are efferent nerve fibers that carry signals from the spinal cord to the effectors.
Motor neuron
Types of lower motor neurons are alpha motor neurons, beta motor neurons, and gamma motor neurons.
Motor neuron

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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