ˈsen.trəˌsōm noun
( -s )
Etymology: German zentrosom (translation of French corpuscule central ), from zentr- centr- + -som -some
1. : a minute protoplasmic body found in the cytoplasm, less often in the nucleus, of many animal and some plant cells that takes an important part in mitosis, being regarded by many as the center of the dynamic activity manifested in that process, and that comprises one or two centrioles surrounded by a centrosphere and when active in mitosis by an aster — called also central body ; compare mitosis
2. : centriole
3. : centrosphere
• cen·tro·so·mic | ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷|sōmik, -äm-, -ēk adjective