syngamy

[ sing-guh-mee ]

noun

, Biology.

1. union of gametes, as in fertilization or conjugation; sexual reproduction.

syngamy

/ ˈsɪŋɡəmɪ; ˈsɪŋɡəməs; sɪnˈdʒɛnɪsɪs; sɪŋˈɡæmɪk /

noun

1. other names for sexual reproduction

syngamy

/ sĭng′gə-mē /

1. The fusion of two gametes in fertilization.

Derived Forms

• syngamic, adjective

Other Words From

• syn·gam·ic [sin-, gam, -ik], syn·ga·mous [sing, -g, uh, -m, uh, s], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of syngamy¹

First recorded in 1900–05; syn- + -gamy

Example Sentences

In seven of the zygotes that were microinjected with sgRNA2b–Cas9, the pronuclei had already faded after thawing, showing that they had exited S phase and were undergoing syngamy.

From Nature

What we do press is this—that when an authority comes forward to assure us that all the processes of life, including man's highest as well as his lowest attributes, can be explained on chemico-physical lines, we are entitled to ask for a more cogent proof of it than the demonstration, however complete, of the germination of an egg, caused by artificial stimulus and not by the ordinary method of syngamy, even though that germination may lead to the production of a perfect adult form.

From Project Gutenberg