gonium

¹

[ goh-nee-uhm ]

noun

, Cell Biology.

, plural go·ni·a [goh, -nee-, uh].

1. the germ cell during the phase marked by mitosis.

-gonium

²

1. a combining form of gonium:

   archegonium.

-gonium

combining form

1. indicating a seed or reproductive cell

   archegonium

Word History and Origins

Origin of gonium¹

From New Latin; gon-, -ium

Word History and Origins

Origin of gonium¹

from New Latin gonium, from Greek gonos seed

Example Sentences

Whereas Volvox individuals have 500 to 60,000 cells arranged in a hollow sphere, some relatives, such as the Gonium species, have as few as four to 16 cells; others are completely unicellular.

From Science Magazine

The volvocine species Gonium pectorale — whose genome was just sequenced for the first time as part of the study — is right smack in the middle of that path, so much so it's pretty much in evolutionary purgatory between the two stages.

From Washington Post

When Olson, who teaches evolutionary genomics at Kansas State University, removed the gene from a Gonium and put it in its unicellular relative, Chlamydomonas, the formerly single-celled organisms started clumping together to form colonies.

From Washington Post

My mind swept back over evolution from star-dust to Kartabo compound, from Gonium to man, and to these leaf-cutting ants.

From Project Gutenberg

First a swimming lily, Stentor, a solitary animal bloom, twenty-five to the inch; Cothurnia, a double lily, and Gonium, with a quartet of cells clinging tremulously together, progressing unsteadily—materially toward the rim of my field of vision—in the evolution of earthly life toward sponges, peripatus, ants and man.

From Project Gutenberg

Words That Use -gonium

What does -gonium mean?

The combining form -gonium is used like a suffix meaning “gonium,” meaning “the germ cell during the phase marked by mitosis.” The form -gonium is also used more generally to mean “seed” or “reproductive cell.” It is occasionally used in scientific terms, especially in biology.

The form -gonium comes from Greek gónos, meaning “seed, generation.”

Examples of -gonium

One example of a scientific term that features the form -gonium is ascogonium, “the female sexual organ in certain ascomycetous fungi.”

The asco- part of the word means “sac,” from Greek askós. The -gonium part of the word means “reproductive cell” or “seed.” Ascogonium literally translates to “reproductive cell sac.”

What are some words that use the equivalent of the combining form -gonium in Latin?

• archegonium
• hormogonium
• oogonium
• spermagonium

What are some other forms that -gonia may be commonly confused with?

• -gamy
• -gon
• -gony

Break it down!

The combining form oo- means “egg.” With this in mind, what does oogonium literally mean?