Cytokinesis

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌsaɪtoʊkɪˈniːsɪs/

Definitions

1. The division of the cytoplasmic material in a cell that leads to the formation of two distinct daughter cells is an essential biological process
2. This biological mechanism involves the separation of the cell's cytoplasm, resulting in two independent cells complete with nuclei
3. The process of dividing the cytoplasm during cell division results in the formation of two separate daughter cells that each contain a nucleus

Etymology: "Cytokinesis" is a modern scientific coinage, built from two Greek-derived elements rather than from any term used by ancient writers. The first part, "cyto-", comes from Greek "kytos", meaning "hollow vessel" or "cell", and it is the same combining form that appears in words like cytoplasm. The second part, "-kinesis", comes from Greek "kinesis", meaning "movement" or "motion", which also gives English words such as kinetic and telekinesis. Put together, the literal sense is "cell movement," and that is a fair description of the process. Cytokinesis is the final stage of cell division, in which the cytoplasm pulls apart after the nucleus has already split, so that a single cell becomes two. The name describes the physical division of the cell body itself, distinguishing it from the earlier separation of the chromosomes, which is called karyokinesis, from Greek "karyon", meaning "nut" or "kernel".