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leptotene

[ lep-tuh-teen ]
/ ˈlɛp təˌtin /

noun Cell Biology.

a stage of cell division during the prophase of meiosis, in which the chromosomes are not distinct but appear as a mass of entangled threads.

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Origin of leptotene

<French leptotène (1900); see lepto-, -tene

Words nearby leptotene

leptospira, leptospiral jaundice, leptospirosis, leptospiruria, leptosporangiate, leptotene, Leptotrichia, Leptotrombidium, Leptotrombidium akamushi, Lepus, Le Puy
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for leptotene

leptotene
/ (ˈlɛptəʊˌtiːn) /

noun

the first stage of the prophase of meiosis during which the nuclear material becomes resolved into slender single-stranded chromosomes

Word Origin for leptotene

C20: from lepto- + -tene, from Greek tainia band, filament
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

Medical definitions for leptotene

leptotene
[ lĕp′tə-tēn′ ]

n.

The early stage of prophase in meiosis in which the replicated chromosomes contract and become visible as long filaments well separated from one another.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.