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leptotene

[lep-tuh-teen]
noun Cell Biology.
  1. 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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for leptotene

leptotene

noun
  1. the first stage of the prophase of meiosis during which the nuclear material becomes resolved into slender single-stranded chromosomes
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Word Origin

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
leptotene in Medicine

leptotene

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