septum

English

Alternative forms

• saeptum, sæptum (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin sēptum (“enclosure, wall, fence”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛp.təm/

• Audio (RP):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛptəm

Noun

septum (plural septa)

1. (biology) A wall separating two cavities; a partition.

   Synonym: dissepiment

   1. (anatomy) Ellipsis of nasal septum.: the cartilaginous center wall of the nose separating the two nostrils.
      • 2002, Springhouse, Illustrated Manual of Nursing Practice, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, page 1158:

        Deviated septum, a shift from the midline that commonly occurs in normal growth, is present in most adults.

      • 2008, Neil Cicierega (lyrics and music), “Modify”, in View-Monster, performed by Lemon Demon:

        Sally got a dagger hung from her septum
        O'Malley cut his ears off, but wishes that he kept 'em

   2. (anatomy) Either of the two walls that separate the atria or ventricles of the heart into left and right chambers.
   3. (botany) A partition that separates the cells of a fruit.
   4. (mycology) A partition that separates the cells of a (septated) fungus.
   5. (zoology) One of the radial calcareous plates of a coral.
   6. (zoology) One of the transverse partitions dividing the shell of a mollusk, or of a rhizopod, into several chambers.
   7. (zoology) One of the transverse partitions dividing the body cavity of an annelid.
2. (colloquial) Ellipsis of septum ring. or septum piercing.

   Look, I got a new septum!

Hyponyms

• nasal septum
• interventricular septum
• septum pellucidum

Derived terms

• anteroseptum
• apicoseptum
• distoseptum
• euseptum
• inferoseptum
• interseptum
• midseptum
• posteroseptum
• pseudoseptum
• sarcoseptum
• septal
• septate
• septectomy
• septile
• septo-
• septumless
• septum piercing
• septum ring
• superoseptum

 

Translations

(anatomy) wall separating two cavities

• Catalan: septe (ca) m
• Czech: přepážka (cs) f
• Finnish: väliseinä (fi)
• German: Septum (de) n
• Greek: διάφραγμα (el) n (diáfragma)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: setto (it)
• Kaurna: mudlhayala
• Maori: taunga (of the nose)
• Polish: przegroda (pl) f
• Portuguese: septo m
• Russian: перегоро́дка (ru) f (peregoródka)
• Spanish: tabique (es) m

(botany) partition separating the cells of a fruit

• Finnish: väliseinä (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

(mycology) partition separating the cells of a fungus

• Finnish: väliseinä (fi)
• German: Septum (de) n, Septe f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Swedish: septum (sv) n (scientific; pl. septa)

(zoology) radial calcareous plate of a coral

• Finnish: väliseinä (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

(zoology) transverse partition dividing the shell chambers of a mollusc or rhizopod

• Finnish: väliseinä (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

(zoology) transverse partition dividing the body cavity of an annelid

• Finnish: väliseinä (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

References

• “septum”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “septum”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Anagrams

• spetum

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French

Noun

septum m (plural septums)

1. (biology) septum

Further reading

• “septum”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈseːp.tum/, [ˈs̠eːpt̪ʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈsep.tum/, [ˈsɛpt̪um]

Noun

sēptum n (genitive sēptī); second declension

1. Alternative form of saeptum.

Descendants

• → English: septum