epigenesis

[ep-i-jen-uh-sis]

noun

1. Biology.,  the theory that an embryo develops from the successive differentiation of an originally undifferentiated structure (preformation ).

2. Genetics.,  the approximately stepwise process by which genetic information is modified and translated into the substance and behavior of an organism.

3. Geology.,  ore deposition subsequent to the original formation of the enclosing country rock.

epigenesis

/ ɪˈpɪdʒɪnɪst, ˌɛpɪˈdʒɛnɪsɪs /

noun

1. the widely accepted theory that an individual animal or plant develops by the gradual differentiation and elaboration of a fertilized egg cell Compare preformation

2. the formation or alteration of rocks after the surrounding rock has been formed

3. alteration of the mineral composition of a rock by external agents: a type of metamorphism

Other Word Forms

• epigenesist noun
• epigenist noun
• epigenetic adjective
• epigenetically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of epigenesis¹

First recorded in 1800–10; epi- + -genesis