involution

  

in·vo·lu·tion

[in-vuh-loo-shuhn]
noun
1.
an act or instance of involving or entangling; involvement.
2.
the state of being involved.
3.
something complicated.
4.
Botany, Zoology.
a.
a rolling up or folding in upon itself.
b.
a part so formed.
5.
Biology. retrograde development; degeneration.
6.
Physiology. the regressive changes in the body occurring with old age.
7.
Grammar. a complex construction in which the subject is separated from its predicate by intervening clauses or phrases.
8.
Mathematics. a function that is its own inverse.
Origin:
1605–15; < Medieval Latin involūtiōn- (stem of involūtiō). See involute, -ion

Related forms
su·per·in·vo·lu·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To involution
00:10
Involution is always a great word to know.
So is homogenesis. Does it mean:
a mass of protoplasm found in most cells, directing their growth, metabolism, reproduction, and functioning in the transmission of genic characters
reproduction in which the offspring resemble the parents and undergo the same cycle of development
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Collins
World English Dictionary
involution (ˌɪnvəˈluːʃən) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  the act of involving or complicating or the state of being involved or complicated
2.  something involved or complicated
3.  zoology degeneration or structural deformation
4.  biology an involute formation or structure
5.  physiol reduction in size of an organ or part, as of the uterus following childbirth or as a result of ageing
6.  Compare evolution an algebraic operation in which a number, variable, expression etc, is raised to a specified power
7.  grammar an involved construction, such as one in which the subject is separated from the predicate by an additional clause
 
invo'lutional
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

involution in·vo·lu·tion (ĭn'və-l&oomacr;'shən)
n.

  1. A decrease in size of an organ, as of the uterus following childbirth.

  2. The ingrowth and curling inward of a group of cells, as in the formation of a gastrula from a blastula.

  3. A progressive decline or degeneration of normal physiological functioning occurring as a result of the aging process. Also called catagenesis.

in'vo·lu'tion·al adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
involution   (ĭn'və-l'shən)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. A mathematical operation, such as negation, which, when applied to itself, returns the original number.

  2. The ingrowth and curling inward of a group of cells, as in the formation of a gastrula from a blastula.

  3. A decrease in size of an organ, as of the uterus following childbirth.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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