释义 |
tet·rad I. \ˈte.ˌtrad\ noun (-s) Etymology: Greek tetrad-, tetras group of four, four; akin to Greek tettares, tessares four — more at four 1. : a group or arrangement of four : something composed of four parts : quaternion: as a. : a tetravalent element, atom, or radical b. : a group of four cells arranged usually in the form of a tetrahedron and produced by the successive divisions of a mother cell — compare spore mother cell c. : an arrangement of chromosomes by fours in the first meiotic prophase due to precocious longitudinal splitting of paired homologous chromosomes 2. : tetralogy 3 II. adjective : fourfold — used especially of an axis of symmetry < a tetrad axis requires that every aspect of the crystal be repeated at 90 degree intervals during rotation about the axis > |