zygote
Plural: zygotes
Noun
- A diploid cell resulting from the fusion of two haploid gametes.
- (genetics) the diploid cell resulting from the union of a haploid spermatozoon and ovum (including the organism that develops from that cell)
- A eukaryotic cell formed from the fusion of two gametes (“reproductive cells”) during a fertilization process.
Examples
- His opening play of ZYGOTE felt like the very beginning of a new life form on the board.
Origin / Etymology
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ζῠγωτός (zŭgōtós, “yoked”) + English -ote (suffix meaning ‘having [the thing to which it is attached]’). Ζῠγωτός (Zŭgōtós) is derived from ζῠγόω (zŭgóō, “to join or yoke together”) + -τός (-tós, suffix forming adjectives of possibility); and ζῠγόω (zŭgóō) from ζῠγόν (zŭgón, “yoke for joining animals; anything which joins two things together”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *yewg- (“to tie together, join, yoke”)) + -όω (-óō, suffix forming causative or factitive verbs). By surface analysis, zygo- + -ote.
Synonyms
fertilized ovum
Scrabble Score: 19
zygote: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordzygote: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
zygote: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary