panspermia

[ pan-spur-mee-uh ]

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 Words From

• pan·spermic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of panspermia¹

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

Example Sentences

Over the past four decades, all the predictions of cometary panspermia have been verified.

From Popular-Science

Indeed, the old idea of panspermia leads to the wholesale exchange of biology between the stars.

From Nautilus