Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Pangenesis

Pan·gen′e·sis (păn·jĕn′ē·sĭs), n. [Pan- + genesis.] (Biol.) An hypothesis advanced by Darwin in explanation of heredity.

☞ The theory rests on the assumption, that the whole organization, in the sense of every separate atom or unit, reproduces itself, the cells throwing off minute granules called gemmules, which circulate freely throughout the system and multiply by subdivision. These gemmules collect in the reproductive organs and products, or in buds, so that the egg or bud contains gemmules from all parts of the parent or parents, which in development give rise to cells in the offspring similar to those from which they were given off in the parent. The hypothesis also assumes that these gemmules need not in all cases develop into cells, but may lie dormant, and be transmitted from generation to generation without producing a noticeable effect until a case of atavism occurs.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.