preformationism
|pre-for-ma-tion-ism|
🇺🇸
/ˌpriːfɔrˈmeɪʃənɪzəm/
🇬🇧
/ˌpriːfɔː(r)ˈmeɪʃənɪzəm/
development by unfolding of a preformed miniature
Etymology
'preformationism' originates from English, specifically from the word 'preformation' (ultimately from Latin 'praeformatio'), where the prefix 'pre-' (from Latin 'prae-') meant 'before' and 'formatio' meant 'a shaping' or 'forming'; the suffix '-ism' (from Greek/Latin via English) denotes a doctrine or system.
'preformationism' developed from the earlier noun 'preformation' (from Medieval/Modern Latin 'praeformatio') and entered scientific and philosophical English usage in the 17th–18th centuries; the addition of the suffix '-ism' produced the noun naming the doctrinal system.
Initially the root referred to the notion of 'forming beforehand' (a literal pre-formed state); over time the compound came to designate the specific historical doctrine about embryonic development and, more broadly, any view that treats complex outcomes as merely the unfolding of pre-existing forms.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a historical biological doctrine holding that organisms develop from miniature, fully formed versions of themselves (preformed embryos) rather than by new organization; associated with 17th–19th century embryology (e.g., ovism and spermism).
Preformationism was widely debated among natural philosophers in the 17th and 18th centuries.
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Noun 2
more generally, the view or tendency (in biology, philosophy, or cultural theory) to explain complex structures or outcomes as the unfolding or expression of something already fully formed rather than as the result of progressive organization or emergence.
Critics accused the policy of a kind of preformationism, assuming institutions merely reveal what is already fixed rather than being shaped over time.
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Last updated: 2025/09/12 05:41