Karyotype
/ˈkær.i.oʊˌtaɪp/noun
The number, size, shape, and arrangement of chromosomes in a cell or organism.
Did you know?The first part comes from Ancient Greek κάρυον, meaning “nut” or “kernel,” a reference to the cell nucleus—the chromosome-filled “core” of the cell.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ker-
“Core, head, or horn; a proposed ancestral root connected with the idea of a central hard structure”
Ancient Greek
Greek
κάρυον (karyon)
“Nut or kernel; later used in scientific compounds for a cell’s nucleus”
Ancient Greek
Greek
τύπος (typos)
“A blow, impression, model, pattern, or type”
19th Century
Scientific Greek
karyo- + -type
“A combining form meaning “nucleus” joined to “type” or “pattern””
1920s
German
Karyotyp
“A term for the characteristic chromosome complement of a cell or organism, introduced into modern cytogenetics”
20th Century
English
karyotype
“The complete chromosome complement, described by number and visible structure”