Polyploidy

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈpÉ’lɪplɔɪdi/

Origin

From polyploid + -y, after German Polyploidie.

Full definition of polyploidy

Noun

1. (genetics) The state or condition of being a polyploid; having more than the usual two homologous sets of chromosomes.
• 2011, Terence Allen and Graham Cowling, The Cell: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford 2011, p. 90:As they mature, the DNA is replicated several times but the cell does not divide, a condition known as polyploidy which allows cells to increase in size.

Derived terms

• endopolyploidy

Related terms

• ploidy