telegony

American  

[tuh-leg-uh-nee] / təˈlɛg ə ni /

noun

1. a former belief that a sire can influence the characteristics of the progeny of the female parent and subsequent mates.

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telegony British  

/ ˌtɛlɪˈɡɒnɪk, tɪˈlɛɡənɪ /

noun

1. genetics the supposed influence of a previous sire on offspring borne by a female to other sires

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Other Word Forms

• telegonic adjective

Etymology

Origin of telegony

First recorded in 1890–95; tele- ¹ + -gony

Example Sentences

She found scattered references to Circe across the ancient world, and drew from the plot of the Telegony, an epic preserved only in a short summary, which tells the story of Telegonus, Odysseus and Circe’s son.

From New York Times

In fact, this very idea, called telegony, was proposed by ancient scholars such as Aristotle but dismissed with the advent of genetics.

From Time

Aristotle’s concept of telegony predicted this long ago: His theory postulates that males leave a mark on their mate’s body that influences the offspring’s traits—even if the child’s father is actually someone else.

From Newsweek

It has been shown that newborns may resemble a mother’s previous sexual partner, after scientists at the University of South Wales observed an instance of telegony – physical traits of previous sexual partners being passed down to future children.

From The Guardian

You may not have had the power to change your ex’s worst habits, but if the theory of telegony is true, you can find some satisfaction in taking control of the way their descendants behave.

From The Guardian