Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

polytene

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: poly-tene
IPA

13

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Having very large chromosomes with many chromatids (arms).

noun

A very large chromosome with many chromatids (arms); a chromosome exhibiting polyteny

Example Sentences

"When this was done, it could be shown that the production of polytene chromosomes is not uniform for all chromosomes of a single nucleus, ie, some chromosomes are more polytene than others, […]"
"Unlike normal chromosomes, polytenes are visible in a microscope even when cell division is not taking place."

Etymology

From poly- + -tene.

Word Breakdown

Prefix: poly
Suffix: tene

Inflected Forms

more polytene (comparative) most polytene (superlative) polytenes (plural)

Derived Forms

polytenization

Frequently Paired Words

polytenic polyteny

Questions

What does polytene mean?: Having very large chromosomes with many chromatids (arms).
Where does polytene come from?: From poly- + -tene.

How to pronounce polytene

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