Atavisms

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Manifestations of ancestral traits or characteristics that reappear after several generations
2. Instances where features of distant ancestors are suddenly expressed in a descendant, often as a result of genetic mutation
3. The return of physical or behavioral traits not seen in recent generations, reflecting evolutionary history or lineage

Etymology: The word "atavisms" is the plural of "atavism," and the story of the root is more surprising than the modern meaning suggests. Its core is Latin "avus," meaning "grandfather," and by extension any ancestor. A "atavus" was a remote ancestor, and the Latin adjective "atavus" and the prefix at- were combined in the sense of ancestry going back many generations. The "-ism" ending is a common suffix that turns a noun into a name for a condition, tendency or phenomenon, so the word as a whole is a label for a trait that reappears from far back in one's lineage. The English word was borrowed from French "atavisme," which itself was built from Latin roots in the same way. The French coinage pictured a family line stretching back through grandparents, great-grandparents and beyond, with a trait surfacing unexpectedly at the end of that chain. The English borrowing kept that picture of an inheritance skipping generations, which is why the term was later taken up by biologists studying reversion, the reappearance of ancestral forms in living organisms.

Synonyms: reversions, throwbacks