leptotene

[ lep-tuh-teen ]

nounCell 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.

Origin of leptotene

1
<French leptotène (1900); see lepto-, -tene

Words Nearby leptotene

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British Dictionary definitions for leptotene

leptotene

/ (ˈlɛptəʊˌtiːn) /


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

Origin of leptotene

1
C20: from lepto- + -tene, from Greek tainia band, filament

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