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neoteny

UK:^*^*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/nɪˈɒtənɪ/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(nē ot′n ē)

ne•ot•e•ny (nē ot′n ē),USA pronunciation n. [Biol.]

Developmental Biology, BiologyAlso called pedogenesis. the production of offspring by an organism in its larval or juvenile form; the elimination of the adult phase of the life cycle.
Developmental Biologya slowing of the rate of development with the consequent retention in adulthood of a feature or features that appeared in an earlier phase in the life cycle of ancestral individuals:Neoteny in the ostrich has resulted in adult birds sporting the down feathers of nestlings.

Greek neo- neo- + teín(ein) to stretch + -ia -y³
Neo-Latin neotēnia
1900–05

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

neoteny /nɪˈɒtənɪ/, neoteinia /ˌniːəʊˈtiːnɪə/ n

the persistence of larval or fetal features in the adult form of an animal. For example, the adult axolotl, a salamander, retains larval external gills

Etymology: 19th Century: from New Latin neotenia, from Greek neo- + teinein to stretch

'neoteny' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

axolotl - mudpuppy - pedogenesis - pedomorphism

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neoteny