The reappearance of a characteristic in an organism after several generations of absence, usually caused by the chance recombination of genes.
An individual or a part that exhibits atavism. Also called throwback.
The return of a trait or recurrence of previous behavior after a period of absence.
[French atavisme, from Latin atavus, ancestor : atta, father + avus, grandfather; see awo- in Indo-European roots.] at'a·vist n., at'a·vis'tic adj., at'a·vis'ti·cal·ly adv.
1833, from F. atavisme, coined 1830s from L. atavus "ancestor," from at- perhaps here meaning "beyond" + avus "grandfather," from PIE *awo- "adult male relative other than the father."
Main Entry: at·a·vism Pronunciation: 'at-&-"viz-&m Function: noun 1: recurrence in an organism of a trait or character typicalof an ancestral form and usually due to genetic recombination 2: an individual or character manifesting atavism :THROWBACK —at·a·vis·tic/"at-&-'vis-tik/adjective —at·a·vis·ti·cal·ly/-ti-k(&-)lE/adverb
atavism at·a·vism (āt'ə-vĭz'əm) n. The appearance of characteristics that are presumed to have been present in some remote ancestor; reversion to an earlier biological type.