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conceptus

American  
[kuhn-sep-tuhs] / kənˈsɛp təs /

noun

plural

conceptuses
  1. the embryo and associated membranes of humans and other highly developed animals.


Etymology

Origin of conceptus

1935–40; < New Latin; Latin: the action of conceiving, hence, something that is conceived, fetus, embryo, equivalent to concep- (variant stem of concipere to conceive; concept ) + -tus suffix of v. action

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Rarely, an egg or a sperm might actually carry more than one chromosome, so the conceptus ends up with more than just a pair of sex chromosomes.

From Scientific American • Jul. 27, 2013

Normally, when a sperm fertilizes an egg, the resulting human conceptus has 23 pairs of chromosomes.

From Scientific American • Jul. 26, 2013

Approximately 3 days after fertilization, a 16-cell conceptus reaches the uterus.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

The movie ends with the hatching of the conceptus.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

Illic sunt homines àbsque vllo ingenio penitus bestiales, serpentibus, vermibusque vescentes, nec inuicem loquentes, sed conceptus suos signis et indicijs ostendentes.

From The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 08 Asia, Part I by Hakluyt, Richard