gemmule

[ jem-yool ]

/ ˈdʒɛm yul /

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noun

Zoology. an asexually produced mass of cells that is capable of developing into an animal, as a freshwater sponge.

Evolution. one of the hypothetical living units conceived by Darwin in the theory of pangenesis as the bearers of the hereditary attributes.

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Origin of gemmule

1835–45; <French <Latin gemmula.See gemma, -ule

Words nearby gemmule

gemmiferous, gemmiform, gemmipara, gemmiparous, gemmulation, gemmule, gemmuliferous, gemmy, gemology, gemot, gempylid

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

How to use gemmule in a sentence

The gemmule-spicules, which are usually numerous, are slender.
Freshwater Sponges, Hydroids & Polyzoa|Nelson Annandale
We can easily conceive a being so small, that a gemmule would be to it as large as St. Paul's would be to us.
On the Genesis of Species|St. George Mivart
The terminal growing bud of the axis is called the plumule or gemmule (g), and represents the ascending axis.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3|Various
Any part of a gemmule would be an impossible (because a less than possible) quantity.
On the Genesis of Species|St. George Mivart

As a theory the gemmule plot is just as good and just as bad scientifically as Weismann's.
The Ethics of Medical Homicide and Mutilation|Austin O'Malley

British Dictionary definitions for gemmule

gemmule

/ (ˈdʒɛmjuːl) /

noun

zoology a cell or mass of cells produced asexually by sponges and developing into a new individual; bud

botany a small gemma

a small hereditary particle postulated by Darwin in his theory of pangenesis

Word Origin for gemmule

C19: from French, from Latin gemmula a little bud; see gem

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 gemmule

gemmule

[ jĕm′yōōl ]

A small gemma or similar structure, especially a reproductive structure in some sponges that remains dormant through the winter and later develops into a new individual.