zygote

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*yewg-“to tie together, join, yoke”
2. Ancient Greek · learned borrowing fromζῠγωτός“yoked”
3. English todayzygote

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ζῠγωτός (zŭgōtós, “yoked”) + English -ote (suffix meaning ‘having [the thing to which it is attached]’). Ζῠγωτός (Zŭgōtós) is derived from ζῠγόω (zŭgóō, “to join or yoke together”) + -τός (-tós, suffix forming adjectives of possibility); and ζῠγόω (zŭgóō) from ζῠγόν (zŭgón, “yoke for joining animals; anything which joins two things together”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *yewg- (“to tie together, join, yoke”)) + -όω (-óō, suffix forming causative or factitive verbs). By surface analysis, zygo- + -ote.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from late 19th c. A eukaryotic cell formed from the fusion of two gametes (“reproductive cells”) during a fertilization process.