cellularizationn.
/ˌsɛljᵿlərʌɪˈzeɪʃn/, U.S. /ˌsɛljələˌraɪˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/, /ˌsɛljələrəˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/ 1. Chiefly Embryology. Division of a syncytium into separate cells, esp. during embryonic development.
ΚΠ
1908 F. R. Lillie Devel. of Chick 50 In the horizontal section,..the process of cellularization at the central margin of the germ-wall is apparently proceeding rapidly.
1953 Systematic Zool. 2 149/2 A process of cellularization must have followed upon a multinucleate stage.
2007 M.-A. Ohto et al. in K. J. Bradford & H. Nonogaki Seed Devel., Dormancy & Germination i. 11 This imbalance between parental genomes results in overproliferation of endosperm nuclei, a delay in the onset of endosperm cellularization, and overgrowth of the chalazal endosperm.
2. gen. Separation into discrete cells or divisions.
ΚΠ
1948 Jrnl. Architect. Educ. (Assoc. Collegiate Schools Architect.) 3 64 I disagree with the idea that conception of construction as a design process tends to cellularization.
1975 China Q. June 304 But this kind of fragmentation does not imply definite boundaries or discrete areas, and may be associated with an increase or a decrease in either administrative decentralization or economic cellularization.
2002 Jrnl. Politics 64 304 Mao's continuous revolution, however, created an unstable political environment characterized by cellularization, factionalism, ritualization, and corruption.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1908