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Webster's 1913 Dictionary

POLYGENESIS; POLYGENY

Pol `y *gen "e *sis, Po *lyg "e *ny, n. Etym: [Poly- + genesis, or root of Gr. (Biol.)

Defn: The theory that living organisms originate in cells or embryos of different kinds, instead of coming from a single cell; -- opposed to monogenesis.

New American Oxford Dictionary

polygenesis

pol y gen e sis |ˌpäliˈjenəsəs pɑliˈʤɛnəsəs | ▶noun origination from several independent sources, in particular: • Biology the hypothetical origination of a race or species from a number of independent stocks. Compare with polygeny. • the hypothetical origination of language or of a surname from a number of independent sources in different places at different times.

Oxford Dictionary

polygenesis

polygenesis |ˌpɒlɪˈdʒɛnɪsɪs | ▶noun [ mass noun ] 1 Biology the hypothetical origination of a race or species from a number of independent stocks. Compare with polygeny. 2 the hypothetical origination of language or of a surname from a number of independent sources in different places at different times.

Duden Dictionary

Polygenesis

Po ly ge ne sis Substantiv, feminin , die Polygenese |Polyg e nesis |die Polygenesis; Genitiv: der Polygenesis biologische Theorie von der stammesgeschichtlichen Herleitung jeder gegebenen Gruppe von Lebewesen aus jeweils mehreren Stammformen; Gegensatz Monogenese 1