parthenogenesis
UK /ˌpɑːθɪnəʊˈd͡ʒɛnɪsɪs/ · US /ˌpɑɹθɪnoʊˈd͡ʒɛnɪsɪs/ noun
Forms parthenogeneses
- noun (biology, countable, uncountable) (An instance of) reproduction by the development of a single gamete (an ovum or ovule) without fertilisation by a gamete of the opposite sex; compare monogenesis, metagenesis, and heterogamy.
- noun (biology, uncountable, formerly) Asexual reproduction in toto; agamogenesis.
- noun (countable and uncountable) figurative uses of the biological senses
- noun (theology) Virgin birth, in reference to the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ.
Synonyms
Etymology
From partheno- + -genesis, from Ancient Greek παρθένος (parthénos, “virgin”) and γένεσις (génesis, “origin, creation, generation”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun The production of new individuals from virgin females by means of ova which have the power of developing without the intervention of the male element; the production, without fertilization, of cells capable of germination. It is one of the phenomena of alternate generation. Cf. Heterogamy, and Metagenesis.
- noun The production of seed without fertilization, believed to occur through the nonsexual formation of an embryo extraneous to the embrionic vesicle.
Etymology [Gr. parqe`nos a virgin + E. genesis.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “parthenogenesis”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details