ontogeny

[ on-toj-uh-nee ]

/ ɒnˈtɒdʒ ə ni /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ontogeny ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Biology.

the development or developmental history of an individual organism.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

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

Related forms

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

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