SUPERFETATION

superfetation

(noun) fertilization of a second ovum after a pregnancy has begun; results in two fetuses of different ages in the uterus at the same time; “superfetation is normal in some animal species”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

superfetation (countable and uncountable, plural superfetations)

The formation of a fetus while another fetus is already present in the uterus.

An excessive accumulation; a superfluous addition.

Source: Wiktionary


Su`per*fe*ta"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. superfétation.] (Physiol.)

Definition: The formation of a fetus at the result of an impregnation occurring after another impregnation but before the birth of the offspring produced by it. This is possible only when there is a double uterus, or where menstruation persists up to the time of the second impregnation. In then became a superfetation upon, and not an ingredient in, the national character. Coleridge.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

16 January 2025

BOOK

(noun) a collection of rules or prescribed standards on the basis of which decisions are made; “they run things by the book around here”


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Coffee Trivia

Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.

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