preformation

noun
/pɹiːfɔːˈmeɪʃ(ə)n/UK

Etymology

From pre- + formation.

  1. derived from fōrmātiō
  2. derived from formacion
  3. inherited from formacioun
  4. prefixed as preformation — “pre + formation

Definitions

  1. Prior formation.

  2. The theory that organisms are fully developed in the form of an egg or seed, and just…

    The theory that organisms are fully developed in the form of an egg or seed, and just increase in size (as opposed to epigenesis).

    • Preformation, as even Aristotle spotted, merely postpones the problem, for how did the homunculus get its shape?

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for preformation. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA