anlage

[ ahn-lah-guh ]

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.

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

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

How to use anlage in a sentence

It is at present unknown what determines the formation of these specific anlagen.
The Organism as a Whole | Jacques Loeb
One day, while taking a walk in the park called "Die Englishen Anlagen," he seated himself on a bench and shortly fell asleep.
George Gemnder's Progress in Violin Making | George Gemnder
There are pleasant walks by the Rhine, beautiful Anlagen, a picturesque old tower, and the site of Gutenberg's house to see.
A War-time Journal, Germany 1914 and German Travel Notes | Harriet Julia Jephson

British Dictionary definitions for anlage

anlage

/ (ˈænˌlɑːɡə) /

nounplural -gen (-ɡən) or -ges

another word for primordium

Origin of 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

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