PALINGENESIS

palingenesis, recapitulation

(noun) emergence during embryonic development of various characters or structures that appeared during the evolutionary history of the strain or species

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

palingenesis (countable and uncountable, plural palingeneses)

(biology, obsolete or historical) The apparent repetition, during the development of a single embryo, of changes that occurred previously in the evolution of its species.

(geology) The regeneration of magma by the melting of metamorphic rocks.

(theology, philosophy) Spiritual rebirth through the transmigration of the soul.

(more generally) Rebirth; regeneration.

The recurrence of historical events in the same order in an infinite series of cycles.

Synonyms

• (biology): recapitulation

• (theology): metempsychosis

Source: Wiktionary

Pal`in*gen"e*sis, Pal`in*gen"e*sy, n. Etym: [Gr. palingénésie. See Genesis.]

1. A new birth; a re-creation; a regeneration; a continued existence in different manner or form.

2. (Biol.)

Definition: That form of evolution in which the truly ancestral characters conserved by heredity are reproduced in development; original simple descent; -- distinguished from kenogenesis. Sometimes, in zoölogy, the abrupt metamorphosis of insects, crustaceans, etc.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition