heterogenesis
NounOpen English WordNet
Noun (1)
- the alternation of two or more different forms in the life cycle of a plant or animalSynonyms: alternation of generationsxenogenesisType of organic phenomenonKinds metagenesis, digenesis
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onerousadjective
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Het′er·o·gen′e·sis noun
Origin: Hetero- + genesis.
1. Biology Spontaneous generation, so called.
2. Biology That method of reproduction in which the successive generations differ from each other, the parent organism producing offspring different in habit and structure from itself, the original form, however, reappearing after one or more generations; — opposed to homogenesis, or gamogenesis.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54