Plural of cellulose; the main structural material in plant cell walls, used to make paper, fabric, and plastic.
From cellulo- (from Latin cellula meaning small cell) + -ose (chemical suffix for sugars). Discovered in 1838, the word describes the polymer made of glucose molecules linked together.
Cellulose is technically just glucose (sugar) molecules linked in a chain—your body can't break those links, but cows can, which is why they can eat grass and we can't!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.