n.
Pronunciation: ˌ e-p ə - ' je-n ə -s ə s
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin
Date: 1798
1 : development of a plant or animal from an egg or spore through a series of processes in which unorganized cell masses differentiate into organs and organ systems also : the theory that plant and animal development proceeds in this way ― compare PREFORMATION 2
2 : change in the mineral character of a rock owing to outside influences