Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Genetics The process of cell division in sexually reproducing organisms that reduces the number of chromosomes in reproductive cells from diploid to haploid, leading to the production of gametes in animals and spores in plants.
- n. Rhetorical understatement.
Wiktionary
- n. countable, rhetoric A figure of speech whereby something is made to seem smaller or less important than it actually is.
- n. uncountable, cytology Cell division of a diploid cell into four haploid cells, which develop to produce gametes.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Rhet.) Diminution; a species of hyperbole, representing a thing as being less than it really is; understatement; see also litotes.
- n. (Cell Biology) The cellular process by which a diploid progenitor cell forms haploid gametes, including a division of one diploid cell into two cells, each with one of the homologous sets of chromosomes.
WordNet 3.0
- n. understatement for rhetorical effect (especially when expressing an affirmative by negating its contrary)
- n. (genetics) cell division that produces reproductive cells in sexually reproducing organisms; the nucleus divides into four nuclei each containing half the chromosome number (leading to gametes in animals and spores in plants)
Etymologies
- Modern Latin, from Ancient Greek μείωσις (meiōsis, "a lessening"), from μειόω (meioō, "I lessen"), from μείων (meiōn, "less"). (Wiktionary)
- Greek meiōsis, diminution, from meioun, to diminish, from meiōn, less; see mei-2 in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“My own mnemonic system depends on the fact that the word meiosis has been “reduced,” from mitosis, to the extent of not containing the letter t.”
“Incorrect chromosome division during meiosis is the commonest cause of spontaneous miscarriage during pregnancy, and an extra chromosome 21 in humans leads to Down's syndrome.”
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2004 - Information for the Public
“The process by which the DNA load is halved is termed meiosis.”
“The process of gamete formation involves a specialized form of cell division called meiosis, which is tightly regulated by molecular processes within the cell.”
“It’s possible the last time I heard the word meiosis was in my Anatomy and Physiology class in college.”
“The transmission of genes from parent to offspring is carried out in a special process of cellular division called meiosis, which produces gamete cells containing one chromosome from each paired set.”
“This is because when they form they discard half of their chromosomes in a process called meiosis.”
“In cells undergoing the sexual cell division process called meiosis, there are lots of double-Holliday junctions and lots of crossovers.”
“The cells are formed by a special process of cell division, called meiosis, which results in the halving of the chromosome number in each parental gamete so that the full complement can be restored when sperm and ovum unite.”
WN.com - Articles related to Philippines Tests Sex Education In Public Schools
“This reduction is accomplished through a process called meiosis, where one chromosome in a diploid pair is sent to each daughter gamete.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘meiosis’.
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My . . . uh . . .
maija, maya, maia, mia, mya, maieutics, maja, miya, mialuthien, miah, maya deren, maya lin and 178 more...
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phrontistery - m
from phrontistery.info
multiloculate, multilocation, multiflorous, multifid, multifarious, multicipital, multeity, multarticulate, multanimous, mulse, mullock, mullion and 898 more...
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Rhetorical Devices
trope, wellerism, antimetabole, syncope, open-list, accismus, abating, abbaser, abecedarian, abcisio, ablatio, abominatio and 425 more...
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Words build meanings from origins( et...
These come from gamma meditation ,I think.
discursive, exogenous, machinations, purportedly, sumptuous, congruity, cantankerous, incongruous, festoon, hessian, ratiocinative, stratigraphic and 2046 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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Philosophic , etymology
every major discipline has uniquely developed esoteric nomenclature to facilitate interdisciplinary dissemination
quale , qualia, elegy, tacet, lexicon, annunciate, caste, eros, contrive, purlicue, irony, venacular, dilapidate and 567 more...
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Breaking free from "I before E"
Words that have an I after an E after a letter that's not C.
sheik, seize, weird, foreign, caffeine, apartheid, deity, heifer, leisure, being, either, height and 30 more...
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Words to Remember
apodyopsis, apophenia, aposiopesis, meiosis, rebarbative, compline, comity, farouche, apophasis, averruncate, apodictic, carriwitchet and 3 more...
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Morthalion's Words
supercilious, kvetch, kvass, splurge, erroneous, pugnacious, macabre, gauche, conglomerate, abyss, paraphernalia, kleptomania and 285 more...
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SoSheShall's list
slurp, coeur, slurple, glop, perp, fluarxx, ropechno, herrherr, burrduhherrherr, sloppy, cheezie balls, eccentric and 634 more...
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slumry's Words
cattywampus, ingratiate, lackadaisical, exactitude, exfoliate, fulminate, circumnavigation, circuitous, debride, sidle, sequester, chicory and 1002 more...
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Allographic Homophones
Words that can be pronounced identically but are spelled differently. I've started with unusual or extensive sets. In some of these sets, no one speaker would pronounce them all the same. I've trie...
air, are, ayr, ayre, e'er, ere, err, eyre, heir, apatite, appetite, picnic and 226 more...
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demiscient
words which are homophonous/homonymous with or very similar to science jargon, but which are not.
I'm not sure how many of these there are, but I found two shocking examples today.meiosis, paradiastole, colon, synesthesia, zoomorphism, chiasmus, idempotency, catalexis, prolepsis
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Words of Dinosaurology
This quickly got bigger and weirder than originally intended, so now it's housing terms that relate to the study of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures. See also Dinosaurs, Pterosaurs, Ichthy...
zygopophyses, ziphodont, plesiomorphic, cleidoic, endothermy, ectothermy, viviparous, vertebrae, cervical, dorsal, sacral, caudal and 628 more...
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Master
comprehensive
picaresque, carnivalesque, -esque, grotesque, Cocteau, necropolis, hypnopædic, mojito, imprimatur, insouciance, idyll, maestro and 239 more...
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2008 Wordlist
Hopefully, I'll be using this site for more than one year. It will be fun then to look back and see what new words I found worthy of notice in any given year.
All words spotted in 2008...longanimity, permalancer, breeder, biodegradable, handicapable, gender-neutral, translator, interpreter, translation, interpreting, kleptocracy, fanfiction and 1598 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for meiosis.
bilby The moment of conception of a kitten. Sep 28, 2008