[syn: filament, filum]
4. a thin wire (usually tungsten) that is heated white hot by the passage of an electric current;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Filament \Fil"a*ment\, n. [F. filament, fr. L. filum thread. See
File a row.]
A thread or threadlike object or appendage; a fiber; esp.
(Bot.), the threadlike part of the stamen supporting the
anther.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
filament
n 1: a very slender natural or synthetic fiber [syn: fibril,
filament, strand]
2: the stalk of a stamen
3: a threadlike structure (as a chainlike series of cells) [syn:
filament, filum]
4: a thin wire (usually tungsten) that is heated white hot by
the passage of an electric current