synizesis

[ sin-uh-zee-sis ]
/ ˌsɪn əˈzi sɪs /

noun Phonetics.

the combination into one syllable of two vowels (or of a vowel and a diphthong) that do not form a diphthong.
Also called synaeresis.

Origin of synizesis

1840–50; < Late Latin < Greek synízēsis, equivalent to syn- syn- + ( h)iz- (stem of hízein to sit1) + -ēsis -esis

Words nearby synizesis

syngeneic, syngeneic graft, syngeneic homograft, syngenesis, syngraft, synizesis, synkaryon, synkinesis, synnema, synod, synod of whitby

Example sentences from the Web for synizesis

  • The synizesis and synapsis stages are similar to those in Chelymorpha (figs. 61 and 62).

    Studies in Spermatogenesis |Nettie Maria Stevens

British Dictionary definitions for synizesis

synizesis
/ (ˌsɪnɪˈziːsɪs) /

noun

phonetics the contraction of two vowels originally belonging to separate syllables into a single syllable, without diphthongization Compare syneresis
cytology the contraction of chromatin towards one side of the nucleus during the prophase of meiosis

Word Origin for synizesis

C19: via Late Latin from Greek sunizēsis a collapse, from sunizanein to sink down, from syn- + hizein to sit

Medical definitions for synizesis

synizesis
[ sĭn′ĭ-zē′sĭs ]

n.

Closure or obliteration of the pupil of the eye.
The phase of meiosis in some species in which the chromatin contracts into a mass at one side of the nucleus.