mīˈōsə̇s noun
( plural meioses )
Etymology: New Latin, from Greek meiōsis diminution, from meioun to diminish (from meiōn less) + -sis — more at minor
1.
a. : representation of a thing so as to cause it to be taken as less than it really is
b. : litotes , understatement
2. : the sequence of complex nuclear changes resulting in the production of cells (as gametes) with half the number of chromosomes present in the original cell and typically involving an actual reduction division in which the chromosomes without undergoing prior splitting join in pairs with homologous chromosomes of maternal and paternal origin associated and then separate so that one member of each pair enters each daughter nucleus and a second division not involving reduction — compare maturation , mitosis