Apoptose

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To die through a biological process in which a cell actively breaks down its own structures in a controlled manner
2. To undergo a form of cell death where the organism systematically dismantles itself through internal molecular signaling
3. To self-destruct as a cell through an orderly programmed sequence that prevents damage to surrounding tissues

Etymology: In ancient Greek, "apoptōsis" meant a falling off, such as leaves dropping from a tree or a scab falling from the skin. It is built from "apo", meaning "away from", and "ptōsis", a falling, from the verb "piptein", "to fall". Greek writers used the noun for things dropping away from the body and from plants. Modern biologists took the noun for a programmed form of cell death, in which a cell shrinks and is dismantled in an orderly way instead of bursting open. The verb "apoptose", meaning to undergo this process, was formed from that noun, so it describes a cell dying in the same quiet way a leaf drops from a branch.