/jem"yoohl/ , n.
1. Bot. gemma.
2. Zool. an asexually produced mass of cells that is capable of developing into an animal, as a freshwater sponge.
3. Evolution. one of the hypothetical living units conceived by Darwin in the theory of pangenesis as the bearers of the hereditary attributes.
[ 1835-45; gemmula. See GEMMA, -ULE ]