Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

epigenesis

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.25 in modern English

Syllables: epi-ge-n-e-sis
IPA

13

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

5

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The theory that an organism develops by differentiation from an unstructured egg rather than by simple enlarging of something preformed.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Changes in the mineral content of rock after its formation.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"Ignored for two millennia, Aristotle, in his book On the Generation of Animals, first proposed the theory of epigenesis in biology, suggesting that development of a plant or animal from an egg or spore follows a sequence of steps in which the organism changes and the various organs form."

Etymology

From epi- + -genesis.

Word Breakdown

Prefix: epi
Suffix: genesis

Usage

Inflected Forms

epigeneses (plural)

Derived Forms

epigenetics

Frequently Paired Words

epigenetic epigenetically epigenesist epigenist syngenesis

Questions

What does epigenesis mean?: The theory that an organism develops by differentiation from an unstructured egg rather than by simple enlarging of something preformed.
Where does epigenesis come from?: From epi- + -genesis.

How to pronounce epigenesis

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