"With plural concord. An order, class, or subphylum comprising the ciliate protozoans; (also ciliata) protozoans of this group (collectively or individually); ciliates", Mid 19th cent.; earliest use found in Annals and Magazine of Natural History. From scientific Latin Ciliata, group name from post-classical Latin ciliatus + -a.[Ciliata etymology, Ciliata origin, 英语词源]