Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Nearby Words

gamete

 - 7 dictionary results

gam⋅ete

  [gam-eet, guh-meet]
Use gamete in a Sentence
–noun Biology.
a mature sexual reproductive cell, as a sperm or egg, that unites with another cell to form a new organism.
Origin:
1885–90; < NL gameta < Gk gamet- (s. of gamet wife, gamétēs husband), deriv. of gameîn to marry

Related forms:
ga⋅met⋅ic  [guh-met-ik] , ga⋅me⋅tal  [guh-meet-l] , adjective
ga⋅met⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To gamete
gam·ete   (gām'ēt', gə-mēt')   
n.  A reproductive cell having the haploid number of chromosomes, especially a mature sperm or egg capable of fusing with a gamete of the opposite sex to produce the fertilized egg.

[New Latin gameta, from Greek gametē, wife and gametēs, husband, from gamein, to marry, from gamos, marriage; see gemə- in Indo-European roots.]
ga·met'ic (-mět'ĭk) adj., ga·met'i·cal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

gamete

A reproductive cell having a single set of chromosomes, especially a mature sperm or egg.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

gamete 
"sexual protoplasmic body," 1886, name introduced in Mod.L. by Austrian biologist Gregor Mendel (1822-84), from Gk. gamete "a wife," gametes "a husband," from gamein "to take to wife, to marry," from PIE base *gem(e)- "to marry" (cf. Gk. gambros "son-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law;" Skt. jamih "brother, sister," jama daughter-in-law;" Avestan zama-tar "son-in-law;" L. gener "son-in-law"). This also is the source of the suffix in monogamy, etc. The seventh month of the ancient Attic calendar (corresponding to late January and early February) was Gamelion, "Month of Marriages."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ga·mete
Pronunciation: 'gam-"Et also g&-'mEt
Function: noun
: a mature male or female germ cell usually possessing a haploidchromosome set and capable of initiating formation of a new diploid individual by fusion with a gamete of the opposite sex called also sex cell —ga·met·ic /g&-'met-ik, -'mEt-/ adjective —ga·met·i·cal·ly /-i-k(&-)lE/ adverb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

gamete gam·ete (gām'ēt', gə-mēt')
n.
A reproductive cell having the haploid number of chromosomes, especially a sperm or egg capable of fusing with a gamete of the opposite sex to produce a fertilized egg.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia

gamete

sex, or reproductive, cell containing only one set of dissimilar chromosomes, or half of the genetic material necessary to form a complete organism (i.e., haploid). During fertilization, male and female gametes fuse, producing a diploid (i.e., containing paired chromosomes) zygote. Gametes may be identical in form (isogamy), as in the black mold (Rhizopus), or there may be more than one morphological type (heterogamy), as with many green algae of the genus Chlamydomonas. Gametes of animals, some algae and fungi, and all higher plants exhibit an advanced form of heterogamy called oogamy. In oogamy, one of the gametes is small and motile (the sperm), and the other is large and nonmotile (the egg). See also egg; sperm.

Learn more about gamete with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see gamete on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way