ˈleptəˌtēn noun
( -s )
Etymology: International Scientific Vocabulary lept- + -tene; originally formed as French leptotène
: a stage of the meiotic prophase immediately preceding synapsis in which the chromosomes appear as fine discrete threads — compare pachytene
• lep·to·tenic | ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷|tēnik, -|ten- adjective