pangenesis

[ pan-jen-uh-sis ]

/ pænˈdʒɛn ə sɪs /

noun Biology.

the theory that a reproductive cell contains gemmules or invisible germs that were derived from the individual cells from every part of the organism and that these gemmules are the bearers of hereditary attributes.

Nearby words

Origin of pangenesis

1868; pan- + genesis; term introduced by Charles Darwin

Related formspan·ge·net·ic

[pan-juh-net-ik] /ˌpæn dʒəˈnɛt ɪk/, adjectivepan·ge·net·i·cal·ly, adverb

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

Examples from the Web for pangenesis

He sets forth in considerable detail a doctrine of pangenesis, not wholly unlike that of Darwin.
The Legacy of Greece|Various
I now saw that I had got my hands full, and abandoned my intention of touching upon “Pangenesis.”
Unconscious Memory|Samuel Butler
By means of these illustrations the hypothesis of pangenesis has, I hope, been rendered intelligible.
The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Volume II (of 2)|Charles Darwin
This theory of Pangenesis, in the shape in which Darwin promulgated it, has dropped out of consideration almost entirely.
The Meaning of Evolution|Samuel Christian Schmucker

Towards the end of the work I give my well-abused hypothesis of Pangenesis.
The Autobiography of Charles Darwin|Charles Darwin

British Dictionary definitions for pangenesis

pangenesis

/ (pænˈdʒɛnɪsɪs) /

noun

a former theory of heredity, that each body cell produces hereditary particles that circulate in the blood before collecting in the reproductive cellsSee also blastogenesis (def. 1)

Derived Formspangenetic (ˌpændʒəˈnɛtɪk), adjectivepangenetically, 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