atavism
Americannoun
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Biology.
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the reappearance in an individual of characteristics of some remote ancestor that have been absent in intervening generations.
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an individual embodying such a reversion.
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reversion to an earlier type; throwback.
noun
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the recurrence in a plant or animal of certain primitive characteristics that were present in an ancestor but have not occurred in intermediate generations
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reversion to a former or more primitive type
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of atavism
First recorded in 1825–35; from Latin atav(us) “great-great-great grandfather; remote ancestor, forefather” ( at-, akin to atta familiar name for a grandfather, “grampa” + avus “grandfather, ancestor”) + -ism
Explanation
Atavism is a return to a previous way of doing, saying, or seeing things. It can be casual, like wearing retro clothing and listening to vinyl records, or committed, like living in a straw hut without electricity. It makes sense that atavism comes from a Latin word meaning “forefather,” since it refers to a way of doing things like our ancestors did them. It’s often used negatively, though, to refer to behavior the speaker finds primitive or unacceptable. Atavists are often called "throwbacks." In biology, the term atavism or “evolutionary throwback” is used when animals are born with features that had disappeared, such as legs on a whale.
Vocabulary lists containing atavism
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Evolutionary Biology - High School
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Challenge, List 7
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Atavism Last week a loud noise was heard in the Rocky Mountains.
From Time Magazine Archive
Then she read "Atavism," and her little highly bred face looked savage!
From Man and Maid by Glyn, Elinor
Atavism is, in fact, a misleading name covering a number of very different phenomena.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 3 "Helmont, Jean" to "Hernosand" by Various
Atavism is inadmissible; and fright is the thinnest and most unscientific subterfuge extant.
From Such Is Life by Furphy, Joseph
Atavism also is a new word, instead of family likeness, but unless carefully defined, the word is very apt to mislead us.
From My Autobiography A Fragment by Müller, F. Max (Friedrich Max)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
