panspermia

American  

[pan-spur-mee-uh] / pænˈspɜr mi ə /

Also panspermatism

noun

Biology.

1. the theory that life exists and is distributed throughout the universe in the form of germs or spores that develop in the right environment.

---

Other Word Forms

• panspermic adjective

Etymology

Origin of panspermia

1835–45; < New Latin < Greek panspermía mixture of all seeds. See pan-, -sperm, -ia

Example Sentences

The study also briefly considers directed panspermia, a controversial idea proposed by Francis Crick and Leslie Orgel.

From Science Daily • Oct. 26, 2025

One of the earliest hypotheses of how life originated on Earth was by panspermia, which dates back to the 5th century BC.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Even if Loeb and Siraj’s meteor had managed to reach Earth’s surface, however, other experts in the arcane topic of panspermia suggest it would not have brought anything living with it.

From Scientific American • Apr. 23, 2019

“We’ll create panspermia if it didn’t already exist,” he said.

From New York Times • Feb. 21, 2011

All the citizens cooked a panspermia or “Pot-of-all-Seeds,” but of this Pot-of-all-Seeds no citizen tasted.

From Ancient Art and Ritual by Harrison, Jane Ellen