Embryonate

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To bring an egg to the stage of developing a living embryo ; having within it an embryo that is still growing
2. To make an egg begin developing into an embryo through incubation ; describing an egg or seed that holds a growing embryo
3. To incubate an egg so that an embryo starts to form ; containing an embryo in its early phase of growth

Etymology: Embryo comes from the Greek "embryon," literally "something swelling inside," formed from "en" ("in") and "bryein" ("to swell, be full of, grow"). The Greeks applied it to a young creature still developing within its mother, and English later extended it to any organism in its earliest stages of growth. Embryonate is built by adding the suffix "-ate," which turns a noun into a verb meaning to act on or treat something in a certain way, as in "activate" or "originate." To embryonate eggs is to bring them to the point where the embryo inside develops, usually by incubating them.