preformationist
|pre-for-ma-tion-ist|
🇺🇸
/ˌpriːfɔrˈmeɪʃənɪst/
🇬🇧
/ˌpriːfɔːrˈmeɪʃənɪst/
belief that development starts from a preformed miniature
Etymology
'preformationist' originates from Modern English, specifically the word 'preformation' with the suffix '-ist', where 'pre-' meant 'before' and 'formation' (from Latin 'formatio') meant 'a shaping or forming'.
'preformationist' changed from the term 'preformation' (attested in English from contacts with French 'préformation' and Modern Latin 'praeformatio' in the 17–18th centuries) and eventually became the English noun 'preformationist' by adding the agentive suffix '-ist'.
Initially, it meant 'a proponent of the doctrine that organisms develop from preformed miniature individuals', but over time it has become mainly a historical or philosophical term used to describe that position in the history of biology.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a person who supports or advocates preformation (the doctrine that organisms develop from miniature, fully formed versions of themselves present in the egg or sperm).
In the history of biology, a preformationist argued that the embryo merely unfolded a tiny, fully formed organism already present in the germ cell.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/09/12 03:55