panˈspərmēə noun
also pan·sper·ma·tism -məˌtizəm
( -s )
Etymology: panspermia from New Latin, from Greek, mixture of elements, from pan- + sperm- + -ia -y; pan- spermatism from pan- + spermat- + -ism
: a theory propounded in the 19th century in opposition to the theory of spontaneous generation and holding that reproductive bodies of living organisms exist throughout the universe and develop wherever the environment is favorable