All Words Glossary

Glossary of Reproduction - Development Terms
beginning with letter P
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parthenogenesis
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noun
  1. The production of new individuals from virgin females by means of ova which have the power of developing without the intervention of the male element; the production, without fertilization, of cells capable of germination. It is one of the phenomena of alternate generation. Cf. Heterogamy, and Metagenesis.
  2. The production of seed without fertilization, believed to occur through the nonsexual formation of an embryo extraneous to the embrionic vesicle.
  3. Sometimes refers to a theory of the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ.
parturition
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noun
  1. The act of giving birth; childbirth.
paternity
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noun
  1. fatherhood, being a father
  2. parental descent from the father's side
philoprogenitive
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adjective
  1. prolific, Prolific, or producing many offspring.
  2. loving, Loving one's offspring.
pleomorphic
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adjective
  1. of, related to, or exhibiting pleomorphism
pleomorphism
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noun
  1. (biology) the occurrence of multiple structural forms during the life cycle of an organism
  2. (chemistry) polymorphism
polyembryony
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noun
  1. (botany) The production of two or more embryos in one seed, due either to the existence and fertilization of more than one embryonic sac or to the origination of embryos outside of the embryonic sac.
polyspermy
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noun
  1. (biology) The penetration of an ovum by more than one sperm
preadolescence
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noun
  1. the period between childhood and adolescence
preadolescent
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noun
  1. a child who has not yet reached puberty
adjective
  1. of, or relating to preadolescence
precocious
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adjective
  1. Characterized by exceptionally early development or maturity.
  2. Exhibiting advanced skills at an abnormally early age.
The child began reading the newspaper at age four.
precursor
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noun
  1. That which precurses, a forerunner, a predecessor, an indicator of approaching events.
  2. (chemistry) One of the compounds that participates in the chemical reaction that produces another compound.
presumptive
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adjective
  1. based on presumption, probability, conjecture, hypothesis or belief
prime
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noun
  1. the earliest stage
  2. the most active, thriving, or successful stage or period
  3. the chief or best individual or part
  4. (music) The first note or tone of a musical scale.
  5. (fencing) The first defensive position, with the sword hand held at head height, and the tip of the sword at head height.
  6. (context, algebra, number theory) A prime element of a mathematical structure, particularly a prime number.
3 is a prime.
  1. (backgammon) Six consecutive blocks, which prevent the opponent's pieces from passing.
I'm threatening to build a prime here.
verb (prim, es)
  1. (transitive) To prepare a mechanism for its main work.
You'll have to press this button twice to prime the fuel pump.
  1. (transitive) To apply a coat of primer paint to.
I need to prime these handrails before we can apply the finish coat.
adjective
  1. First in time, order, or sequence
Both the English and French governments established prime meridians in their capitals.
  1. First in excellence, quality, or value.
This is a prime location for a bookstore.
  1. (mathematics) Having no integral factors except itself and unity (1 in the case of integers).
Thirteen is a prime number.
  1. First in importance, degree, or rank.
Our prime concern here is to keep the community safe.
  1. (mathematics) Having its complement closed under multiplication: said only of ideals.
primordial
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adjective
  1. first, earliest or original
  1. (biology) characteristic of the earliest stage of the development of an organism
    1. of, or relating to a primordium
    2. primeval
primordium
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noun (primordia)
  1. (anatomy) An aggregation of cells that is the first stage in the development of an organ
procreate
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verb (procreat, ing)
  1. (transitive) To beget or conceive (offspring).
  2. (transitive) To originate, create or produce something.
  3. (intransitive) To reproduce.
progenitive
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adjective
  1. Being able to produce offspring, reproductive
progenitor
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noun
  1. any of a person's direct ancestors
  2. a predecessor of something, e.g. "wikipedia:ARPANET, ARPANET was the progenitor of the Internet."
  3. someone who originates or founds something
proliferate
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verb (proliferat, es)
  1. To increase in number or spread rapidly.
The flowers proliferated rapidly all spring.
proliferation
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noun
  1. (uncountable) the process by which an organism produces others of its kind; breeding, propagation, procreation, reproduction
  2. (countable) the act of increasing or rising; augmentation, amplification, enlargement, escalation, aggrandizement
  3. (countable) the result of building up; buildup, accretion
  4. (uncountable) the spread of biochemical, nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction to countries not originally involved in developing them
puberty
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noun
  1. the age at which a person is first capable of sexual reproduction
pubescent
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noun
  1. arriving or arrived at puberty
  2. (context, botany, zoology) covered with down or fine hair
puerile
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adjective
  1. Characteristic of, or pertaining to, a boy or boys; confer: puellile.
  2. childish, Childish; trifling; silly.
The French have been notorious through generations for their affectation of Roman forms, models, and historic precedents. -De Quincey.
1927. "From the table he had received the gout; from the alcove a tendency to convulsions; from the grandeeship a pride so vast and puerile that he seldom heard anything that was said to him and talked to the ceiling in a perpetual monologue; from the exile, oceans of boredom, a boredom so persuasive that it was like pain,—he woke up with it and spent the day with it, and it sat by his bed all night watching his sleep." w:Thornton Wilder, Thornton Wilder, '''w:The Bridge of San Luis Rey, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, p. 79

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