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ontogeny

[on-toj-uh-nee]
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noun Biology.
  1. the development or developmental history of an individual organism.
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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 formson·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. 2018

Related Words

evolutionadvancementexpansionimprovementincreaseprogressmaturityprogressionadditionreinforcementenlargementaugmentationhikefloweringadvanceboostbuildupspreadadulthooddeveloping

Examples from the Web for ontogenesis

Historical Examples

  • But ontogenesis would have furnished us with facts no less cogent.

    Creative Evolution

    Henri Bergson

  • It studies man from two different points of view: his development (ontogenesis), and his variations.

    Pedagogical Anthropology

    Maria Montessori

  • The ontogenesis of any given living organism is a short, condensed recapitulation of its ancestral history or of its phylogenesis.

    The Last Link

    Ernst Haeckel

  • It summarises the history of species; ontogenesis, we are told, reproduces phylogenesis.

  • This exceedingly important larval form, the "gastrula," makes its appearance in the ontogenesis of all tribes of animals.

    Was Man Created?

    Henry A. Mott

British Dictionary definitions for ontogenesis

ontogeny

ontogenesis (ˌɒntəˈdʒɛnɪsɪs)

noun
  1. the entire sequence of events involved in the development of an individual organismCompare phylogeny
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Derived Formsontogenic (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

Word Origin and History for ontogenesis

ontogeny

n.

"development of an individual," 1872, from onto- + -geny. Related: Ontogenic; ontogenesis.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
ontogenesis in Medicine

ontogenesis

(ŏn′tō-jĕn′ĭ-sĭs)
n.
  1. ontogeny
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ontogeny

(ŏn-tŏj′ə-nē)
n.
  1. The origin and development of an individual organism from embryo to adult.ontogenesis
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
ontogenesis in Science

ontogeny

[ŏn-tŏj′ə-nē]
  1. The origin and development of an individual organism from embryo to adult.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.