April 28, 2004, 20:05
shufitzMotile vs. Mobile
motile: 1.
Biology Moving or having the power to move spontaneously:
motile spores.How does this differ from
mobile?
April 29, 2004, 01:16
arnie Mobile simply means that it is able to move.
Motile means that it can move of its own accord. Thus, a rock rolling downhill can be said to be
mobile, but the rock needs a push of some sort to get it going, so it is not
motile.
April 29, 2004, 21:23
tinmanBoth words refer to movement in living organisms,but I think
mobile refers to voluntary movements and
motile to involuntary ones.
Mobile is also applied to inanimate objects meaning "capable of movement", but I don't think that
motile can properly be applied to inanimate objects.
Tinman
April 29, 2004, 21:43
tinmanWhile looking up
motile, I came across an AWAD site with the following definition:
mo.tile a. [See Motive.] 1. (Biol.) Having powers of self-motion, though unconscious; as, the motile spores of certain seaweeds.
2. Producing motion; as, motile powers.
But on that same site was a discussion of "words relating to body parts". Here are the words:
glabella
lunula
uvula
frenum
axilla
canthus
gular
Some of these words have been discussed before. If you don't know them, look at
AWAD.
Tinman
April 30, 2004, 00:49
aputI think of 'motile' as referring to things like flagella and cilia that can move in place, either to create feeding currents or to cause the organism to move from place to place (be mobile). A motile cell would generate movements on the spot, a mobile cell would move around the organism.
May 03, 2004, 09:33
KallehInteresting distinctions. I agree that "motility" refers to involuntary movement. Probably the most common use of "motile" is with testing the motility of sperm.
How does
automobile fit into all of this? It means automotically (or self) mobile, right? Is "automobile" ever used to refer to "mobile," not related to cars?
May 03, 2004, 16:48
shufitzWe seem to have many separate thoughts of how to distinguish 'motile' from 'mobile': self-power (arnie), volition (tinman, kalleh), movement in place (aput). I found 'motile' defined on a medical site as "having spontaneous but not conscious or volitional movement."