anlage

[ ahn-lah-guh ]

/ ˈɑn lɑ gə /

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noun, plural an·la·gen

[ahn-lah-guhn], /ˈɑn lɑ gən/, an·la·ges.(sometimes initial capital letter)

Embryology. an embryonic area capable of forming a structure: the primordium, germ, or bud.

Psychology. an inherited predisposition to certain traits or to a particular character development.

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Origin of anlage

1890–95; <German Anlage foundation, basis, as noun derivative of anlegen to lay on or out, apply, equivalent to an-on + legen to lay¹

Words nearby anlage

ankylose, ankylosing spondylitis, ankylosis, ankylostomiasis, anlace, anlage, anlaut, An Lu Shan, Ann, anna, Annaba

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use anlage in a sentence

Braus138 has proved this by transplanting the anlage of a foreleg to different parts of the body.
The Organism as a Whole|Jacques Loeb
Rudiment, used here as a translation for the word anlage, which means the first plotting-out or beginning of a living structure.
The Biological Problem of To-day|Oscar Hertwig
As this groove is followed caudad its ventral wall is seen to become much thickened, tg, to form the anlage of the thyroid gland.
Development of the Digestive Canal of the American Alligator|Albert M. Reese
By virtue of this difference the egg-substance is characterized as the Anlage, or germ of the mature organism.
A Mechanico-Physiological Theory of Organic Evolution|Carl Von Ngeli

The respiratory system is represented by the anlage of the lungs, a longitudinal protrusion of the ventral wall of the esophagus.
The Ethics of Medical Homicide and Mutilation|Austin O'Malley

British Dictionary definitions for anlage

anlage

/ (ˈænˌlɑːɡə) /

noun plural -gen (-ɡən) or -ges

another word for primordium

Word Origin for anlage

German: predisposition, layout

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012