karyotype
497 Views

GC: n

S: SDir – https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/karyotype (last access: 21 November 2019); NCBI – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1458450 (last access: 21 November 2019).

N: 1. Chromosomal constitution of a cell, 1929, ultimately from Russian kariotip (1922); from “karyo-” (before vowels kary-, word-forming element used since c. 1874 in biological terms referring to cell nuclei, from Greek karyon “nut, kernel,” possibly from PIE root *kar- “hard,” but Beekes leans toward the notion that it is a Pre-Greek word) + “type” (late 15c., “symbol, emblem,” from Latin typus “figure, image, form, kind,” from Greek typos “a blow, dent, impression, mark, effect of a blow; figure in relief, image, statue; anything wrought of metal or stone; general form, character; outline, sketch,” from root of typtein “to strike, beat,” from PIE *tup-, variant of root *(s)teu- (1) “to push, stick, knock, beat”). Related: Karyotypic.
2. The chromosomal characteristics of a cell. Also: the chromosomes themselves or a representation of them.
3. The particular chromosome complement of an individual as defined by the number, size, and centromere position of the chromosomes, usually in mitotic metaphase.
4. To karyotype refers to the systematic display of all the chromosomes in a single somatic cell. Morphologic identification is based on the relative size of the chromosomes, their arm ratio, and certain secondary morphologic features. Individual human chromosomes can now be identified after staining with various banding techniques.

S: 1. OED – https://www.etymonline.com/word/karyotype; https://www.etymonline.com/word/karyo-; https://www.etymonline.com/word/type (last access: 21 November 2019). 2. MW – https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/karyotype (last access: 21 November 2019). 3 & 4. TERMIUM PLUS – https://bit.ly/2XCm4V2 (last access: 21 November 2019).

SYN:
S:

CR: chromosome