synapsis

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/sɪˈnæpsɪs/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(si napsis)

Inflections of 'synapsis' (n): npl: synapses

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
syn•ap•sis  (si napsis),USA pronunciation n., pl. -ses (-sēz).USA pronunciation 
  1. Cell BiologyAlso called syndesis. the pairing of homologous chromosomes, one from each parent, during early meiosis.
  2. Cell Biology[Physiol.]synapse.
  • Greek sýnapsis junction, equivalent. to synap- (stem of synáptein to make contact, equivalent. to syn- syn- + (h)áptein to touch) + -sis -sis
  • Neo-Latin
  • 1645–55;
syn•ap•tic  (si naptik),USA pronunciation syn•apti•cal, adj.  syn•apti•cal•ly, adv. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
synapsis / sɪˈnæpsɪs/ ( -ses / -siːz/)
  1. the association in pairs of homologous chromosomes at the start of meiosis
  2. another word for synapse
Etymology: 19th Century: from New Latin, from Greek sunapsis junction, from sunaptein to join together, from syn- + haptein to connect
'synapsis' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

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