Tetraploids

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of organism containing four complete sets of chromosomes, resulting in genetic variation and adaptability in some plants and animals
2. Referring to species or hybrids that possess a genetic makeup characterized by four times the basic set of chromosomes, leading to greater size or resilience
3. Describing cells or individuals that have undergone a process of polyploidy, resulting in fourfold chromosome duplication commonly observed in certain agricultural species

Etymology: Tetraploids is the plural of tetraploid, which describes an organism with four full sets of chromosomes. The term joins Greek "tetra-", meaning four, to "-ploid", a suffix from the Greek "-ploos", meaning "-fold". It was coined in the early twentieth century as part of a family of genetics terms that includes diploid and polyploid, which German botanist Hans Winkler is generally credited with introducing.