The 1957
Encyclopédie Larousse defines a
cell in
music as a "small
rhythmic and
melodic design that can be isolated, or can make up one part of a
thematic context." The cell may be distinguished from the
figure or
motif: the 1958
Encyclopédie Fasquelle defines a cell as, "the smallest indivisible unit," unlike the motif, which may be divisible into more than one cell. "A cell can be
developed, independent of its context, as a melodic fragment, it can be used as a developmental motif. It can be the source for the whole
structure of the work; in that case it is called a
generative cell."