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diploid

[dip-loid]
See more synonyms for diploid on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. double; twofold.
  2. Biology. having two similar complements of chromosomes.
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noun
  1. Biology. an organism or cell having double the basic haploid number of chromosomes.
  2. Crystallography. a solid belonging to the isometric system and having 24 trapezoidal planes.
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Origin of diploid

First recorded in 1905–10; dipl(o)- + -oid
Related formsdip·loi·dic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

binaryamphibiandiploidbilateraldualbifurcateamphibiousbicameralbigeminalbinalbipartisanbipartitedichotomicdichotomousdistichousdualisticdyadicdoubleduplexduplicate

Examples from the Web for diploid

Historical Examples

  • Diploid (2n) chromosome numbers were determined from cells in late prophase and metaphase of mitosis.

    Neotropical Hylid Frogs, Genus Smilisca

    William E. Duellman

  • In animals, as in plants, the diploid generation attained the higher development and gradually assumed the dominant position.

    Darwin and Modern Science

    A.C. Seward and Others

  • The uninitiated sees in the more highly organised plants only a succession of diploid generations.

    Darwin and Modern Science

    A.C. Seward and Others

  • Similarly all the higher animals appear to us as independent organisms with diploid nuclei only.

    Darwin and Modern Science

    A.C. Seward and Others

  • They appear with this arrangement in all subsequent nuclear divisions in the diploid generation.

    Darwin and Modern Science

    A.C. Seward and Others

British Dictionary definitions for diploid

diploid

adjective
  1. biology (of cells or organisms) having pairs of homologous chromosomes so that twice the haploid number is present
  2. double or twofold
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noun
  1. biology a diploid cell or organism
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Derived Formsdiploidic, adjectivediploidy, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for diploid

adj.

1908, from Greek diploos "double, twofold," (from di- "two" + root *pel- "to fold;" see ply (v.)) + eidos "form" (see -oid).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
diploid in Medicine

diploid

(dĭp′loid′)
adj.
  1. Having two sets of chromosomes or double the haploid number of chromosomes in the germ cell, with one member of each chromosome pair derived from the ovum and one from the spermatazoon. The diploid number, 46 in humans, is the normal chromosome complement of an organism's somatic cells.
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n.
  1. A diploid organism or cell.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
diploid in Science

diploid

[dĭp′loid′]
  1. Having paired sets of chromosomes in a cell or cell nucleus. In diploid organisms that reproduce sexually, one set of chromosomes is inherited from each parent. The somatic cells of most animals are diploid. Compare haploid. See Note at mitosis.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.