polygenesis

[pol-ee-jen-uh-sis]

noun

Biology, Anthropology.

1. origin from more than one ancestral species or line.

polygenesis

/ ˌpɒlɪdʒɪˈnɛtɪk, ˌpɒlɪˈdʒɛnɪsɪs /

noun

1. biology evolution of a polyphyletic organism or group

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

Other Word Forms

• polygenetically adverb
• polygenetic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of polygenesis¹

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

Example Sentences

And other commentators of the era believed that lice evolved through polygenesis, a pseudoscientific theory that posited that species originated from many different stocks — and that, when extended to humans, implies that people of different races did too.

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He was a proponent of the theory of polygenesis, which held that some races were separate species, with separate origins.

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A proponent of polygenesis — the idea that the races descended from different origins, a notion challenged in its own time and refuted by Darwin — he had the pictures taken to furnish proof of this theory.

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Agassiz, a rival of Charles Darwin, subscribed to polygenesis, the theory that black and white people descended from different origins.

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Douglass was especially critical of the promotion of polygenesis: the idea that the races of humankind emerged in separate creation events and with unequal capacities.

Read more on Slate