polygenesis

[ pol-ee-jen-uh-sis ]

/ ˌpɒl iˈdʒɛn ə sɪs /

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noun Biology, Anthropology.

origin from more than one ancestral species or line.

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Origin of polygenesis

First recorded in 1860–65; poly- + -genesis

Words nearby polygenesis

polygamist, polygamophile, polygamous, polygamy, polygene, polygenesis, polygenetic, polygenic, polygenic inheritance, polygenism, polyglandular

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use polygenesis in a sentence

Polygenesis amounted to a justification for Europeans believing themselves essentially different from the rest of the species.
Desperately Seeking a GOP Hero|Stanley Crouch|September 25, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Polygenesis, pol-i-jen′e-sis, n. origin from many separate germs: the theory that organisms sprang from different cells.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R)|Various
Polygenesis in his inventions may probably be regarded as testimony in favour of the monogenesis of Man.
The Evolution of Culture|Augustus Henry Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers

British Dictionary definitions for polygenesis

polygenesis

/ (ˌpɒlɪˈdʒɛnɪsɪs) /

noun

biology evolution of a polyphyletic organism or group

the hypothetical descent of the different races of man from different ultimate ancestors

Compare monogenesis

Derived forms of polygenesis

polygenetic (ˌpɒlɪdʒɪˈnɛtɪk), adjectivepolygenetically, 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