kinesis

[ki-nee-sis, kahy-]

noun Physiology.

the movement of an organism in response to a stimulus, as light.

Origin of kinesis

1900–05; < Greek kī́nēsis movement, equivalent to kīnē-, verbid stem of kīneîn to move + -sis -sis

-kinesis

a combining form with the general sense “movement, activity,” used in the formation of compound words, often with the particular senses “reaction to a stimulus” (photokinesis), “movement without an apparent physical cause” (telekinesis), “activity within a cell” (karyokinesis).

Compare -kinesia.

Origin of -kinesis

< Greek -kīnēsis; see kinesis

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for kinesis

Historical Examples of kinesis

Joyce says something of the sort very differently, he is full of technical scholastic terms: "stasis, kinesis," etc.
Instigations
Ezra Pound

British Dictionary definitions for kinesis

kinesis

noun

biology the nondirectional movement of an organism or cell in response to a stimulus, the rate of movement being dependent on the strength of the stimulus

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 kinesis

"physical movement," 1819, from Greek kinesis "movement, motion" (see cite).

kinesis in Medicine

kinesis

[kə-nē′sĭs, kī-]

n. pl. ki•ne•ses (-sēz′)

Motion or physical movement, especially movement that is induced by stimulation.