zygonema, n.

zygonema
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zygonema_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 1921; not fully revised

# zygonemanoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zygonema mean?

There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun zygonema. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

#### Entry status

OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.

### How common is the noun zygonema?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1910 | 0.002
1920 | 0.0021
1930 | 0.0032
1940 | 0.004
1950 | 0.0048
1960 | 0.0049
1970 | 0.0048
1980 | 0.0052
1990 | 0.0056
2000 | 0.0051
2010 | 0.0041

### How is the noun zygonema pronounced?

#### British English

/ˌzʌɪɡəˈniːmə/
zigh-guh-NEE-muh
/ˌzɪɡəˈniːmə/
zig-uh-NEE-muh

#### U.S. English

/ˌzaɪɡəˈnimə/
zigh-guh-NEE-muh
/ˌzɪɡəˈnimə/
zig-uh-NEE-muh

### Where does the noun zygonema come from?

Earliest known use

1910s

The earliest known use of the noun zygonema is in the 1910s.

OED's earliest evidence for zygonema is from 1911, in Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science.

### Nearby entries

1. zygomatic, adj. & n. 1712–
2. zygomatico-, comb. form
3. zygomato-, comb. form
4. zygomere, n. 1966–
5. zygomorphic, adj. 1875–
6. zygomorphism, n. 1875–
7. zygomorphous, adj. 1879–
8. Zygomycetes, n. 1887–
9. zygomycetous, adj. 1928–
10. zygon, n. 1886–
11. zygonema, n.1911–
12. zygoneurous, adj. 1901–
13. zygophiuran, adj. & n. 1892–
14. zygophore, n. 1904–
15. zygophyllaceous, adj. 1887–
16. zygophyte, n. 1885–
17. zygopleura, n. 1883–
18. zygopterid, n. & adj. 1900–
19. zygosis, n. 1880–
20. zygosity, n. 1952–
21. zygosome, n. 1905–

## Etymology

< French zygonema (V. Grégoire 1907, in La Cellule XXIV. 371), < Greek νῆμα thread.

## Meaning & use

Cytology.

1. 1911–
   † a. A chromosome at zygotene; b. = zygotene n.; now rare.
   1. 1911

      > The debatable stages of the meiotic prophases in which parasyndesis and its associated phenomena occur—leptonema, zygonema..—have been dealt with by many experienced cytologists.

      Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science vol. 57 32
   2. 1911

      > By the time the zygonema is fairly far advanced we do get appearances not unlike what may occasionally..be found in the condensation of a somatic chromosome.

      Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science vol. 57 33
   3. 1976

      > It is generally known that during zygonema (stages XII–XIV in rat spermatogenesis) the homologous sets of sister chromatid pairs begin to come together and associate with one another.

      Nature 8 April 534/2
   cell biology genetics
   1. resting stage 1810–
      a. A place at which rest is taken during a journey (cf. stage, n.¹ V.17); also figurative; b. chiefly Biology a stage in a process, life cycle…
   2. prophase 1884–
      The first stage in a mitotic or meiotic nuclear division, preceding prometaphase, during which chromatin condenses into chromosomes which become…
   3. anaphase 1887–
      The stage in cell division, between metaphase and telophase, during which the daughter chromosomes move apart towards the opposite poles.
   4. metaphase 1887–
      Originally: †each of the changes observed in the dividing cell nucleus from the formation of the equatorial plate to the beginning of the separation…
   5. synapsis 1895–
      Biology. Originally in sense of quots. 1895, 1905; in modern use, chromosomal pairing during the zygotene stage of meiosis.
   6. telophase 1895–
      The final phase of mitosis and meiosis, following anaphase and preceding interphase, at which the chromatids or chromosomes are at opposite poles of…
   7. maturation division 1896–
      Either of the two divisions of meiosis.
   8. postsynapsis 1898–
      Originally: a stage of meiosis after synapsis; spec. †(a) the stage in late anaphase during which paired chromosomes or chromatids become completely…
   9. strepsinema 1900–25
      A condition of the nucleus during cell division, characterized by pairs of chromosomes twisted around one another or in the form of twisted rings…
   10. synizesis 1905–
       Cytology. Also synezesis. A stage of meiosis in some species in which all the chromosomal material is seen tightly contracted into a clump.
   11. interkinesis 1906–
       A stage which sometimes intervenes between the first and second divisions of meiosis; also, any stage between mitoses.
   12. pachynema 1909–
       = pachytene, n.
   13. telosynapsis 1909–
       A supposed end-to-end pairing of chromosomes during the zygotene stage of meiosis; = telosyndesis, n.
   14. leptonema 1911–
       = leptotene, n.
   15. metasyndesis 1911–
       Pairing of chromosomes by their ends; = telosynapsis, n.
   16. strepsitene 1911–25
       = strepsinema, n.
   17. zygonema 1911–
       †a. A chromosome at zygotene; b. = zygotene, n.; now rare.
   18. zygotene 1911–
       The second stage of the prophase of meiosis, following leptotene, during which homologous chromosomes begin to pair.
   19. leptotene 1912–
       The first stage of the prophase of the first meiotic division, in which the chromosomes are apparent as fine slender threads. Also attributive or as…
   20. pachytene 1912–
       In cell division: the third stage of the first meiotic prophase, following zygotene, during which the paired chromosomes shorten and thicken, the…
   21. interphase 1913–
       Cytology. A stage in the cycle of nuclear division which intervenes between one mitosis and the next; also, a stage between the first and second…
   22. telosyndesis 1920
       = telosynapsis, n.
   23. prometaphase 1931–
       The stage in mitotic or meiotic nuclear division, following prophase and preceding metaphase, during which the condensed chromosomes become…
   24. dictyotene 1957–
       The dictyate stage of meiosis in oocytes; = dictyate, n. Frequently attributive.
   25. dictyate 1958–
       The dictyate stage of meiosis; = dictyotene, n.
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. trivalency 1888–
   2. zygosome 1905–
      = bivalent, adj. & n.
   3. bivalence 1909–
      In various subjects: the quality of being bivalent; bivalency; spec. in Logic, principle of bivalence (see quots.).
   4. zygonema 1911–
      †a. A chromosome at zygotene; b. = zygotene, n.; now rare.
   5. trivalent 1922–
      Cytology. A multivalent consisting of three chromosomes.
   6. quadrivalent 1923–
      Cell Biology. A multivalent consisting of four chromosomes.
   7. quinquevalent 1926–
      Genetics. A multivalent involving five chromosomes.
   8. multivalent 1929–
      Cell Biology. An association of three or more completely or partly homologous chromosomes during the first division of meiosis.
   9. nullisomic 1932–
      A nullisomic individual or variety.
   10. bivalent 1937–
       Biology. Applied to homologous chromosomes united in pairs at the first division of meiosis. Hence as n.
   11. nullisome 1944–
       = nullisomic, n. Also: the missing chromosome of a nullisomic individual or variety.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˌzʌɪɡəˈniːmə/
zigh-guh-NEE-muh
/ˌzɪɡəˈniːmə/
zig-uh-NEE-muh

### U.S. English

/ˌzaɪɡəˈnimə/
zigh-guh-NEE-muh
/ˌzɪɡəˈnimə/
zig-uh-NEE-muh

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye*
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- ifleece, happy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- ætrap, bath
- ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
- ɑrstart
- ɔcloth, thought
- ɔrnorth, force
- ʊfoot
- ugoose
- əstrut, comma
- ərnurse, letter
- ɪ(ə)rnear
- ɛ(ə)rsquare
- ʊ(ə)rcure
- eɪface
- aɪpride
- aʊmouth
- oʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ɑ̃gratin
- æ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.

##### Consonants

b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values

- gguy
- jjay
- yyore
- chchore
- khloch
- shshore
- ththaw
- dhthee
- zhbeige

##### Vowels

- atrap
- ahpalm
- airsquare
- arstart
- arrcarry (British only)
- awthought
- ayface
- a(ng)gratin
- edress
- eefleece
- eerdeer
- errmerry
- ikit
- ighpride
- irrmirror
- olot (British only)
- ohgoat
- oogoose
- oorcure
- orforce
- orrsorry (British only)
- owmouth
- oyvoice
- o(ng)salon
- ustrut
- uhletter
- urnurse
- urrhurry
- uufoot

## Frequency

zygonema typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

zygonema is in frequency band 2, which contains words occurring between 0.001 and 0.01 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands

Frequency data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of zygonema, n., 1910–2010

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.

The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.

For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole, n.¹, mole, n.², mole, n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the Google Books corpus.

Decade | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
1910 | 0.002
1920 | 0.0021
1930 | 0.0032
1940 | 0.004
1950 | 0.0048
1960 | 0.0049
1970 | 0.0048
1980 | 0.0052
1990 | 0.0056
2000 | 0.0051
2010 | 0.0041

Originally published as part of the entry for zygo-, comb. form

zygo-, comb. form was first published in 1921; not fully revised.