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gametes

 - 6 dictionary results

gam⋅ete

  [gam-eet, guh-meet]
Use gametes 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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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