Monday, December 28, 2009

Define: Polysororal

Polysororal. Came across in an article (Findings, Harper's Magazine, March 2009)
The eldest sisters in polysororal families tend to lose their virginity later. Female worker ants who attempt to reproduce via parthenogenesis in the presence of the queen will be attacked by their peers.

I can't find anyone online that defines polysoral but Merriam-Webster offers sororal. Polysororal would, by logic, then be a family with multiple female siblings.

Merriam-Webster:

Main Entry: so·ro·ral
Pronunciation: \sə-ˈrȯr-əl\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin soror sister — more at sister
Date: 1858

No comments:

Post a Comment