palingenesis

American  

[pal-in-jen-uh-sis] / ˌpæl ɪnˈdʒɛn ə sɪs /

noun

1. rebirth; regeneration.

2. Biology.

   1. embryonic development that reproduces the ancestral features of the species.

   2. Obsolete. the supposed generation of organisms from others preformed in the germ cells.

3. baptism in the Christian faith.

4. the doctrine of transmigration of souls.

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palingenesis British  

/ ˌpælɪnˈdʒɛnɪsɪs, ˌpælɪndʒəˈnɛtɪk /

noun

1. Christianity spiritual rebirth through metempsychosis of Christian baptism

2. biology another name for recapitulation

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Other Word Forms

• palingenesian adjective
• palingenetic adjective
• palingenetically adverb

Etymology

Origin of palingenesis

1615–25; < New Latin < Greek pálin again + génesis genesis

Example Sentences

The plot is a palingenesis of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment.

From Time Magazine Archive

New institutions spring up, upon which thought acts, and in and through which it even draws nearer to a final unity, a palingenesis.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 2 "Baconthorpe" to "Bankruptcy" by Various

All true philosophers have been attracted by the mystery of palingenesis, and have found that its acceptance has thrown a flood of light on the questions that perplexed them.

From Reincarnation A Study in Human Evolution by Rothwell, Fred

They had preserved their character, whereas Gamelin believed in a Revolutionary palingenesis.

From The Gods are Athirst by Jackson, Emilie

I went to Lord C——: I said, 'I will go back and see the palingenesis of my country; I will see what they are doing, now the French are in the dust.'

From Recollections of Geoffrey Hamlyn by Kingsley, Henry