neoteny
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English
Etymology
From German Neotenie, coined in 1884 by anatomist Julius Kollmann from Ancient Greek νέος (néos, “young”) + τείνειν (teínein, “to tense”).
Pronunciation
Noun
neoteny (countable and uncountable, plural neotenies)
- (biology) 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.
- 2011, Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature, Penguin, published 2012, page 744:
- 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.
- (biology) The sexual maturity of an organism still in its larval stage.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Derived terms
Translations
retention of juvenile characteristics in the adult
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sexual maturity of an organism still in its larval stage
