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.

Nearby words

leptospira, leptospiral jaundice, leptospirosis, leptospiruria, leptosporangiate, leptotene, leptotrichia, leptotrombidium, leptotrombidium akamushi, lepus, lequear

Origin of leptotene

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

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

Medicine 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.