telegony

[ tuh-leg-uh-nee ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a former belief that a sire can influence the characteristics of the progeny of the female parent and subsequent mates.

telegony

/ tɪˈlɛɡənɪ; ˌtɛlɪˈɡɒnɪk /

genetics the supposed influence of a previous sire on offspring borne by a female to other sires

First recorded in 1890–95; tele- ¹ + -gony

C19: from tele- + -gony . Compare Greek tēlegonos ``born far from one's homeland''

In 2004 the Russian Orthodox Church sponsored the publication of “Virginity and Telegony.”

Weismann does not absolutely deny the possibility of the existence of telegony, but he would like more evidence.

His experiments so far support the view of Continental mule breeders, that telegony, if it takes place, occurs very seldom.

The idea of telegony, the persistent influence of the first mating, may be invoked to explain this discrepancy.

Telegony is still believed by many animal breeders, but it has no place in science.

The phenomenon has recently been endowed with a new name—Telegony.

April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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