noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The network of glial cells that supports nervous system tissue. plural, plural-only
2. 2
   sustentacular tissue that surrounds and supports neurons in the central nervous system; glial and neural cells together compose the tissue of the central nervous system wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

neuroglianeurogliaglial cellglial cellglias

Etymology

From Ancient Greek γλία (glía), γλοία (gloía, “glue”), γλοιός (gloiós, “a glutinous substance, gum”)

Related phrases

glial cellglial cellnervous system

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.