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Webster 1913 Edition


Pangenesis

Pan-gen′e-sis

,
Noun.
[
Pan-
+
genesis
.]
(Biol.)
An hypothesis advanced by
Darwin
in explanation of heredity.

Definition 2024


pangenesis

pangenesis

English

Noun

pangenesis (plural pangeneses)

  1. A mechanism for heredity proposed by Charles Darwin long before the true mechanism was discovered, according to which the cells of the body shed "gemmules" which collect in the reproductive organs prior to fertilization.