ontogeny

[ on-toj-uh-nee ]

/ ɒnˈtɒdʒ ə ni /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR ontogeny ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Biology.

the development or developmental history of an individual organism.

Words nearby ontogeny

onto, onto function, onto-, ontogenesis, ontogenetic, ontogeny, ontological, ontological argument, ontologism, ontologize, ontology

Also on·to·gen·e·sis

[on-tuh-jen-uh-sis] /ˌɒn təˈdʒɛn ə sɪs/.

Compare phylogeny.

Origin of ontogeny

First recorded in 1870–75; onto- + -geny

OTHER WORDS FROM ontogeny

on·to·ge·net·ic

[on-tuh-juh-net-ik] /ˌɒn tə dʒəˈnɛt ɪk/, on·to·ge·net·i·cal, on·to·gen·ic, adjectiveon·to·ge·net·i·cal·ly, on·to·gen·i·cal·ly, adverbon·tog·e·nist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ontogenesis

It studies man from two different points of view: his development (ontogenesis), and his variations.
Pedagogical Anthropology|Maria Montessori
But ontogenesis would have furnished us with facts no less cogent.
Creative Evolution|Henri Bergson
It summarises the history of species; ontogenesis, we are told, reproduces phylogenesis.
A New Philosophy: Henri Bergson|Edouard le Roy
This exceedingly important larval form, the "gastrula," makes its appearance in the ontogenesis of all tribes of animals.
Was Man Created?|Henry A. Mott

It is naturally no easy matter to trace the ontogenesis of the herd instinct.
Group Psychology and The Analysis of The Ego|Sigmund Freud

British Dictionary definitions for ontogenesis

ontogeny

ontogenesis (ˌɒntəˈdʒɛnɪsɪs)

/ (ɒnˈtɒdʒənɪ) /

noun

the entire sequence of events involved in the development of an individual organismCompare phylogeny

Derived forms of ontogeny

ontogenic (ˌɒntəˈdʒɛnɪk) or ontogenetic (ˌɒntədʒɪˈnɛtɪk), adjectiveontogenically or ontogenetically, 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