polyembryony

[ pol-ee-em-bree-uh-nee, -oh-nee, -em-brahy-uh-nee ]

nounEmbryology.
  1. the production of more than one embryo from one egg.

Origin of polyembryony

1
1840–50; poly- + Greek émbryonembryo + -y3

Words Nearby polyembryony

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How to use polyembryony in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for polyembryony

polyembryony

/ (ˌpɒlɪˈɛmbrɪənɪ) /


noun
  1. the production of more than one embryo from a single fertilized egg cell: occurs in certain plants and parasitic hymenopterous insects

Derived forms of polyembryony

  • polyembryonic (ˌpɒlɪˌɛmbrɪˈɒnɪk), adjective

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

Scientific definitions for polyembryony

polyembryony

[ pŏl′ē-ĕmbrē-ə-nē, -ĕm-brī- ]


  1. Development from a single fertilized egg cell or, in plants, from a single ovule. In human beings, identical twins are the result of polyembryony. In gymnosperm plants, polyembryony involves the fertilization of more than one egg, though usually only one embryo survives in the ovule.

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