centromere

Borrowed from German Centromer, corresponding to centro- +‎ -mere (from Ancient Greek μέρος (méros, “part”)).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛntɹə(ʊ)mɪə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛntɹəˌmiɚ/

centromere (plural centromeres)

1. (genetics) The central region of a eukaryotic chromosome where the kinetochore is assembled.
   • 1936, C. D. Darlington, “The Analysis of Chromosome Movements, I. Podophyllum versipelle”, in Cytologia, volume 7, numbers 1-2, page 242:

     The aberrant bivalents with single terminal chiasmata are specially liable to this failure of orientation, presumably because their centromeres lie exceptionally far apart, as is the case in similar circumstances in a Lilium hybrid with reduced chiasma-frequency.

   • 1999, Matt Ridley, Genome, Harper Perennial, published 2000, page 16:

     Every chromosome has a long arm and a short arm separated by a pinch point known as a centromere.