neoteny
Valid in Scrabble
- Scrabble points
- 10
- Words With Friends
- 11
- Letters
- 7
/niˈɒtəni/(UK)
See all 2 pronunciations Show less
/niˈɒtəni/(UK) · /niˈɑːtəni/(US)
Definition of neoteny
2 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included
noun
-
(countable, uncountable)The retention of juvenile characteristics in the adult.
“Most amphibians are aquatic only while young, but some amphibians with neoteny remain aquatic even as adults.”
“Richard Wrangham has noted that the domestication of animals usually tames them by slowing down components of the developmental timetable to retain juvenile traits into adulthood, a process called pedomorphy or neoteny.”
See all 2 definitions Show less
noun
-
(countable, uncountable)The retention of juvenile characteristics in the adult.
“Most amphibians are aquatic only while young, but some amphibians with neoteny remain aquatic even as adults.”
“Richard Wrangham has noted that the domestication of animals usually tames them by slowing down components of the developmental timetable to retain juvenile traits into adulthood, a process called pedomorphy or neoteny.”
- (countable, uncountable)The sexual maturity of an organism still in its larval stage.
Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.
Etymology
From German Neotenie, coined in 1884 by anatomist Julius Kollmann from Ancient Greek νέος (néos, “young”) + τείνειν (teínein, “to tense”).
Words you can make from neoteny
47 playable · top: TEENY (8 pts)
Best play teeny 8 points5-letter words
8 words4-letter words
12 words3-letter words
15 words2-letter words
11 wordsFind your best play with neoteny
See every word you can make from a set of letters that includes neoteny, or browse word lists you can mine for high-scoring plays.