noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ˈmɛm.bɹeɪn/
General-American:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɛmbɹeɪn
CMU ARPABET:M EH1 M B R EY2 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A flexible enclosing or separating tissue forming a plane or film and separating two environments.
A mechanical, thin, flat flexible part that can deform or vibrate when excited by an external force.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Late Middle English, borrowed from Latin membrāna (“skin or membrane that covers parts of the body”), from membrum (“a limb or member of the body”) + -āna. Doublet of membrana.
Across languages
Translations
135 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
غِشَاء
(ḡišāʔ)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Armenian:
թաղանթ
(tʻaġantʻ)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Asturian:
membrana
— enclosing or separating tissue
Azerbaijani:
qişa
— enclosing or separating tissue
Belarusian:
мембра́на
(mjembrána)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Belarusian:
мэмбра́на
(membrána)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Belarusian:
перапо́нка
(pjerapónka)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Belarusian:
бало́на
(balóna)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Belarusian:
бало́нка
(balónka)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Bulgarian:
ци́па
(cípa)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Bulgarian:
мембра́на
(membrána)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Catalan:
membrana
— enclosing or separating tissue
Chinese Mandarin:
膜
(mó)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Chinese Mandarin:
薄膜
(bómó)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Czech:
membrána
— enclosing or separating tissue
Czech:
blána
— enclosing or separating tissue
Danish:
membran
— enclosing or separating tissue
Dutch:
membraan
— enclosing or separating tissue
Esperanto:
membrano
— enclosing or separating tissue
Estonian:
kile
— enclosing or separating tissue
Estonian:
membraan
— enclosing or separating tissue
Finnish:
kalvo
— enclosing or separating tissue
French:
membrane
— enclosing or separating tissue
Galician:
membrana
— enclosing or separating tissue
Galician:
teaz
— enclosing or separating tissue
German:
Membran
— enclosing or separating tissue
German:
Membrane
— enclosing or separating tissue
German:
Häutchen
— enclosing or separating tissue
Greek:
μεμβράνη
(memvráni)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Greek:
υμένας
(yménas)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Ancient Greek:
ὑμήν
(humḗn)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Ancient Greek:
μῆνιγξ
(mêninx)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Hebrew:
קרום
(krum)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Hindi:
झिल्ली
(jhillī)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Hungarian:
hártya
— enclosing or separating tissue
Icelandic:
himna
— enclosing or separating tissue
Indonesian:
membran
— enclosing or separating tissue
Ingrian:
obolocka
— enclosing or separating tissue
Irish:
scannán
— enclosing or separating tissue
Irish:
seicin
— enclosing or separating tissue
Italian:
membrana
— enclosing or separating tissue
Italian:
pergamena
— enclosing or separating tissue
Japanese:
膜
(maku)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Khmer:
ភ្នាស
(phniəh)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Korean:
막
(mak)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Northern Kurdish:
perde
— enclosing or separating tissue
Latin:
membrāna
— enclosing or separating tissue
Latvian:
membrāna
— enclosing or separating tissue
Latvian:
plēve
— enclosing or separating tissue
Lithuanian:
membrana
— enclosing or separating tissue
Lithuanian:
plėvė
— enclosing or separating tissue
Macedonian:
ци́па
(cípa)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Macedonian:
мембра́на
(membrána)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Malay:
kulipis
— enclosing or separating tissue
Malayalam:
ചർമ്മം
(caṟmmaṁ)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Northern Mansi:
сыквар
(sykvar)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Māori:
rīrapa
— enclosing or separating tissue
Māori:
tewe
— enclosing or separating tissue
Māori:
kiriuhi
— enclosing or separating tissue
Mongolian:
хальс
(xalʹs)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Norwegian Bokmål:
membran
— enclosing or separating tissue
Norwegian Bokmål:
hinne
— enclosing or separating tissue
Norwegian Nynorsk:
membran
— enclosing or separating tissue
Norwegian Nynorsk:
hinne
— enclosing or separating tissue
Persian:
شامه
(šāme)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Polish:
błonka
— enclosing or separating tissue
Polish:
membrana
— enclosing or separating tissue
Polish:
zakrywka
— enclosing or separating tissue
Polish:
błona
— enclosing or separating tissue
Portuguese:
membrana
— enclosing or separating tissue
Romanian:
membrană
— enclosing or separating tissue
Romanian:
membrane
— enclosing or separating tissue
Russian:
мембра́на
(membrána)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Russian:
перепо́нка
(perepónka)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Russian:
оболо́чка
(obolóčka)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Serbo-Croatian:
о̀пна
— enclosing or separating tissue
Serbo-Croatian:
мембра́на
— enclosing or separating tissue
Serbo-Croatian:
òpna
— enclosing or separating tissue
Serbo-Croatian:
membrána
— enclosing or separating tissue
Slovak:
membrána
— enclosing or separating tissue
Slovak:
blana
— enclosing or separating tissue
Slovene:
opna
— enclosing or separating tissue
Slovene:
membrana
— enclosing or separating tissue
Spanish:
membrana
— enclosing or separating tissue
Swedish:
membran
— enclosing or separating tissue
Swedish:
hinna
— enclosing or separating tissue
Tagalog:
lamad
— enclosing or separating tissue
Tagalog:
bamban
— enclosing or separating tissue
Telugu:
పొర
(pora)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Thai:
เยื่อ
(yʉ̂ʉa)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Thai:
เนื้อเยื่อ
(nʉ́ʉa-yʉ̂ʉa)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Turkish:
zar
— enclosing or separating tissue
Ottoman Turkish:
زار
(zar)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Ukrainian:
мембра́на
(membrána)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Ukrainian:
пере́тинка
(perétynka)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Ukrainian:
оболо́нка
(obolónka)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Urdu:
پردہ
(parda)
— enclosing or separating tissue
Vietnamese:
màng
— enclosing or separating tissue
Armenian:
թաղանթ
(tʻaġantʻ)
— mechanical part
Azerbaijani:
membran
— mechanical part
Belarusian:
мембра́на
(mjembrána)
— mechanical part
Belarusian:
мэмбра́на
(membrána)
— mechanical part