totipotent [toh-tip -uh -tuh nt]
Word Origin
(of a cell or part) having the potential for developing in various specialized ways in response to external or internal stimuli. Show More
Origin of totipotent First recorded in
1895–1900; toti- +
potent1 Related forms to·tip·o·ten·cy , noun Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for totipotency (of an animal cell) capable of differentiation and so forming a new individual, tissue, organ, etc Show More
Derived Forms totipotency , noun Word Origin for totipotent C20: from Latin tōtus entire + potent 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for totipotency adj. 1896, from Latin toti- , comb. form of totus "whole" (see total (adj.)) + potent . Perhaps immediately from German totipotent , which is attested by 1893. Related: Totipotency .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
totipotency [tō-tĭp′ ə-tən-sē, tō′tĭ-pōt′ n-sē]
The ability of a cell, such as an egg, to give rise to unlike cells and to develop into or generate a new organism or part. Show More
Related forms to•tip′ o•tent adj. The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
The ability of cells such as an embryonic stem cell to differentiate into any type of body cell . Plant cells are also totipotent, which helps to explain why a graft of a plant can generate a whole new individual out of just a small branch cutting.
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
