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.

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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

Alternatively, life could have been transported by rocks that traveled between planets through a process called panspermia.

From Scientific American • Sep. 26, 2021

“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