biogenetic law

noun

: the theory of ontogenetic recapitulation

Examples of biogenetic law in a Sentence

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Take Haeckel’s pet theory, the biogenetic law, which stipulates that the development of each embryo in utero echoes the evolution of its remote ancestors. —

Christoph Irmscher, WSJ, 13 Apr. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1874, in the meaning defined above

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The first known use of biogenetic law was in 1874

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“Biogenetic law.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biogenetic%20law. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

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Medical Definition

biogenetic law

noun

: a theory of development much disputed in biology: an organism passes through successive stages resembling the series of ancestral types from which it has descended so that the ontogeny of the individual is a recapitulation of the phylogeny of the group

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biogenetic law

noun

Examples of biogenetic law in a Sentence

Word History

Dictionary Entries Near biogenetic law

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Medical Definition