panspermy

English

Etymology

From pan- +‎ -spermy.

Noun

panspermy (uncountable)

1. (biology) The doctrine of the widespread distribution of germs, from which under favorable circumstances bacteria may develop.
2. (biology) The doctrine that all organisms must come from living parents; biogenesis.

Derived terms

• panspermic
• panspermia
• panspermial
• panspermically

Related terms

• monospermy
• oligospermy

References

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “panspermy”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)