GAMETE

gamete

(noun) a mature sexual reproductive cell having a single set of unpaired chromosomes

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

gamete (plural gametes)

(cytology) A reproductive cell (sperm in males or eggs in females), having only half of a complete set of chromosomes.

Synonyms

• sex cell

• See also gamete

Hypernyms

• germ cell

Hyponyms

• spermatozoon

• sperm

• ovum

• egg

Anagrams

• metage

Source: Wiktionary


Gam"ete (gam"et; ga*met"; the latter usually in compounds), n. [Gr. gameth` wife, or game`ths husband, fr. gamei^n to marry.] (Biol.)

Definition: A sexual cell or germ cell; a conjugating cell which unites with another of like or unlike character to form a new individual. In Bot., gamete designates esp. the similar sex cells of the lower thallophytes which unite by conjugation, forming a zygospore. The gametes of higher plants are of two sorts, sperm (male) and egg (female); their union is called fertilization, and the resulting zygote an oƶspore. In Zoƶl., gamete is most commonly used of the sexual cells of certain Protozoa, though also extended to the germ cells of higher forms.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

15 April 2025

DOOMED

(adjective) marked by or promising bad fortune; ā€œtheir business venture was doomed from the startā€; ā€œan ill-fated business ventureā€; ā€œan ill-starred romanceā€; ā€œthe unlucky prisoner was again put in ironsā€- W.H.Prescott


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