n.
- Retention of juvenile characteristics in the adults of a species, as among certain amphibians.
- The attainment of sexual maturity by an organism still in its larval stage.
[New Latin neotenia : NEO- + Greek teinein, ten-, to extend; see tenesmus.]
neotenic ne'o·ten'ic (nē'ə-tĕn'ĭk, -tē'nĭk) or ne·ot'e·nous (-ŏt'n-əs) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
