PREFORMATION


Meaning of PREFORMATION in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ ˌprē-fȯr-ˈmā-shən ]

noun

Date: 1732

1. : previous formation

2. : the now discredited theory that every germ cell contains the organism of its kind fully formed and that development involves merely an increase in size — compare epigenesis 1, homunculus 2

• pre·for·ma·tion·ist -sh(ə-)nist noun or adjective

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.