animalculismn.
/ˌanᵻˈmalkjᵿlɪz(ə)m/, U.S. /ˌænəˈmælˌkjəˌlɪzəm/ Now historical.
The theory that the embryo exists as a preformed entity in the spermatozoon (as opposed to in the ovum). Cf. animalcule n. 2b. Opposed to ovism n. Also called spermatism.In early use also: †the theory that animalcules are the cause of infectious disease (obsolete rare).
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animalculism1845
target theory1936
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animalculism1845
1845 S. Palmer Pentaglot Dict. 40/1 Animalculisme,..animalculism: the hypothesis employed to explain, by the intervention of spermatic or other animalcula, the process of animal procreation, or the diffusion of contagious, infectious, and epidemic diseases.
1882 Pop. Sci. Monthly Dec. 258 His [sc. Schleiden's] animalculism was, however, limited to the vegetable kingdom.
1931 Nature 7 Mar. Suppl. 352/2 He distinguishes the ovism of Swammerdam, Malpighi, Haller, Spallanzani, and Bonnet, from the animalculism, spermatism, or vermiculism of, say, Leeuwenhoek.
1985 Jrnl. Hist. Ideas 46 78 Most of his statements support an ovist view; this is his most explicit endorsement of animalculism.
2000 William & Mary Q. 57 299 Preformationists generally favored the egg as the probable location of the miniature fetus, but following Leeuwenhoek's discovery of spermatozoa, some opinion shifted..toward what was called ‘animalculism’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1845