metagenesis

noun

meta·​gen·​e·​sis ˌme-tə-ˈje-nə-səs 

: alternation of generations in animals

especially : regular alternation of a sexual and an asexual generation

metagenetic

ˌme-tə-jə-ˈne-tik 

adjective

Word History

Etymology

meta- + genesis, probably after metamorphosis

Note: The term was apparently introduced by the English biologist Richard Owen (1804-92) in On Parthenogenesis, or the Successive Production of Procreating Individuals from a Single Ovum (London, 1849), p. 22

First Known Use

1849, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

metagenesis

noun

meta·​gen·​e·​sis -ˈjen-ə-səs 

plural metageneses -ˌsēz 

: alternation of generations

especially : regular alternation of a sexual and an asexual generation

metagenetic

-jə-ˈnet-ik 

adjective