biogenesis

[ bahy-oh-jen-uh-sis ]

noun
  1. the production of living organisms from other living organisms.

Origin of biogenesis

1
bio- + genesis, coined by T.H. Huxley in 1870
  • Also bi·og·e·ny [bahy-oj-uh-nee]. /baɪˈɒdʒ ə ni/.

Other words from biogenesis

  • bi·o·ge·net·ic [bahy-oh-juh-net-ik], /ˌbaɪ oʊ dʒəˈnɛt ɪk/, bi·o·ge·net·i·cal, bi·og·e·nous, adjective
  • bi·o·ge·net·i·cal·ly, adverb

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

How to use biogenesis in a sentence

  • Carbon is a biogenetic element of the first importance, as I explained in my carbon-theory in 1866.

    The Wonders of Life | Ernst Haeckel
  • In this point also we see the biogenetic parallelism between the two great groups of the tissue-plants and tissue-animals.

    The Wonders of Life | Ernst Haeckel
  • The biogenetic law applies just as much to the brain, the organ of mind, as to any other organ of the human body.

    The Wonders of Life | Ernst Haeckel
  • We can understand, therefore, why the biogenetic law is not so generally recognized by botanists as by zoologists.

    The Wonders of Life | Ernst Haeckel
  • Heinrich Schmidt has partly explained the causes of this change in his work on the biogenetic law.

    The Wonders of Life | Ernst Haeckel

British Dictionary definitions for biogenesis

biogenesis

/ (ˌbaɪəʊˈdʒɛnɪsɪs) /


noun
  1. the principle that a living organism must originate from a parent organism similar to itself: Compare abiogenesis

Derived forms of biogenesis

  • biogenetic, biogenetical or biogenous (baɪˈɒdʒənəs), adjective
  • biogenetically, adverb

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

Scientific definitions for biogenesis

biogenesis

[ bī′ō-jĕnĭ-sĭs ]


  1. Generation of living organisms from other living organisms.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.