gemmule

American  

[jem-yool] / ˈdʒɛm yul /

noun

1. Botany. gemma.

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

3. 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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gemmule British  

/ ˈdʒɛmjuːl /

noun

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

2. botany a small gemma

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

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gemmule Scientific  

/ jĕm′yo̅o̅l /

1. 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.

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Etymology

Origin of gemmule

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

Example Sentences

Gemmules secreted by the hand carried the instructions to manufacture a new hand; gemmules dispersed by the ear transmitted the code to build a new ear.

From Literature

The gemmules germinate towards the end of the "rains," and large masses of sponge are not formed much before December.

From Project Gutenberg

The result is then, with the worst-endowed families, that the "gemmules" or latent forces of hundreds of virtuous, or at least, not vicious, generations, lie hid in their constitutions.

From Project Gutenberg

If the whole ovum, about 1⁄150 in diameter, were all gemmules, the number would be sufficient to last, at this rate, one per second for 5,600 years!

From Project Gutenberg

In this case it may be conjectured that the gemmules of the lost part were gradually all attracted by the partially diseased surface, and thus perished.

From Project Gutenberg