neoteny

noun

an evolutionary trend to be born earlier so that development is cut off at an earlier stage and juvenile characteristics are retained in adults of the species

Roots

neosneo- · Greek · young, new teineinten- · Greek · to stretch, extend (i.e. retention of juvenile traits)ia-y · Greek · state, condition

Synonyms & related words for neoteny

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Words related to neoteny

Explore words related to neoteny — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include neotenous, neotenic, pedomorphic, pedomorphism, pedomorphosis, maturational, epigenesist, heterochronism. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Where does neoteny come from?

The word neoteny breaks down into 3 roots of Greek origin: neo, from Greek neos (“young, new”); ten, from Greek teinein (“to stretch, extend (i.e. retention of juvenile traits)”); and -y, from Greek ia (“state, condition”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.