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preformation
[ pree-fawr-mey-shuhn ]
noun
- previous formation.
- Biology. (formerly) the theory that the individual, with all its parts, preexists in the germ cell and grows from microscopic to normal proportions during embryogenesis ( epigenesis ).
preformation
/ ˌpriːfɔːˈmeɪʃən /
noun
- the act of forming in advance; previous formation
- See epigenesisbiology the theory, now discredited, that an individual develops by simple enlargement of a fully differentiated egg cell Compare epigenesis
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Other Words From
- prefor·mation·ar·y adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of preformation1
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Example Sentences
Let us first cast a historical glance at the older ontogeny, and the theory of preformation which is connected with it.
In any case, we can state today that the cytoplasm contains the rough preformation of the future embryo.
It is interesting to display the essential contrast between preformation and epigenesis in the poetical words of Wolff himself.
In this respect it is like its predecessor, the theory of preformation of the eighteenth century.
Preformation, identical with the original meaning of evolution, which see.
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