xenogenesis

Also xe·nog·e·ny

[zen-uh-jen-uh-sis, zee-nuh-]

noun

Biology.

1. heterogenesis.

2. the supposed generation of offspring completely and permanently different from the parent.

xenogenesis

/ ˌzɛnəʊdʒɪˈnɛtɪk, ˌzɛnəˈdʒɛnɪsɪs /

noun

1. the supposed production of offspring completely unlike either parent

2. another name for abiogenesis alternation of generations

Other Word Forms

• xenogenetic adjective
• xenogenic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of xenogenesis¹

First recorded in 1865–70; xeno- + -genesis

Example Sentences

N: Octavia Butler has this series “Xenogenesis.”

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The heptapods from Arrival, unhumanoid, unearthlike, so strange they shatter and reform the human heroine’s brain; Stevland from Sue Burke’s novel Semiosis, a sentient plant who finds ways to communicate with, and strugglingly understand, the human colonists who’ve come to live on his planet; Octavia Butler’s Oankali, creepily gray and tentacled, familiar enough for the human protagonist of her Xenogenesis trilogy to speak with and love, but eventually irrevocably alien in their morals and worldview.

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One of his first forays into movies was creating the fantasy world of "Xenogenesis," a film that never saw the light of day but a pilot can be seen on YouTube.

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Another difference between “Xenogenesis” and the Marvel Universe is that Butler gets primary credit, and primary recompense, for her work.

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“Skyward Inn,” though, seems thematically closer to Octavia E. Butler’s Xenogenesis series.

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