Etymology

leptotene

L1E1P3T1O1T1E1N1E1

Today it means: The first part of the prophase of meiosis, characterized by threadlike chromosomes Full definition →

French leptotène
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The story

  1. French · derived fromleptotène
  2. English todayleptotene

From French leptotène, corresponding to lepto- (“thin”) + -tene (“ribbon”). Coined by Hans von De Winiwarter in 1900 and in English by Edmund B. Wilson in 1912.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.