ˈvīˌsmäˌnizəm, ˈwīsməˌn- noun
( -s )
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: August Weismann died 1914 + English -ism
: the theories of heredity and development proposed by August Weismann ; especially : the concepts of continuity of the germ plasm and dichotomy of germ and soma with their correlates of germinal transmission of hereditary qualities and absence of inheritance of acquired characters