Standard Lemma guide

zygotene

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The intimate pairing of homologous chromosomes during the synaptic stage of meiosis

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the second stage of the prophase of meiosis

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: phase, stage

History

Etymology

From French zygotène, corresponding to zygo- (“union, zygosis”, from Ancient Greek ζυγόν (zugón, “junction, yoke”)) + -tene (“filament”, from ταινία (tainía, “band, fillet”)), equivalent to zygote + -tene. Coined by Victor Grégoire in 1907 and in English by Edmund B. Wilson in 1912.

Across languages

Translations

2 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: zigotè — pairing of chromosomes during meiosis
  • Finnish: tsygoteeni — pairing of chromosomes during meiosis