Gam"ete (găm"ēt; g&adot;*mēt"; the
latter usually in compounds), n. [Gr.
gameth` wife, or game`ths husband, fr.
gamei^n to marry.] (Biol.) A sexual cell or
germ cell; a conjugating cell which unites with another of like or
unlike character to form a new individual. In Bot.,
gamete designates esp. the similar sex cells of the lower
thallophytes which unite by conjugation, forming a zygospore.
The gametes of higher plants are of two sorts, sperm (male) and
egg (female); their union is called fertilization, and
the resulting zygote an oöspore. In Zoöl.,
gamete is most commonly used of the sexual cells of certain
Protozoa, though also extended to the germ cells of higher
forms.
Gam"ete (găm"ēt; g&adot;*mēt"; the
latter usually in compounds), n. [Gr.
gameth` wife, or game`ths husband, fr.
gamei^n to marry.] (Biol.) A sexual cell or
germ cell; a conjugating cell which unites with another of like or
unlike character to form a new individual. In Bot.,
gamete designates esp. the similar sex cells of the lower
thallophytes which unite by conjugation, forming a zygospore.
The gametes of higher plants are of two sorts, sperm (male) and
egg (female); their union is called fertilization, and
the resulting zygote an oöspore. In Zoöl.,
gamete is most commonly used of the sexual cells of certain
Protozoa, though also extended to the germ cells of higher
forms.
