Palingeneses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process of being born again or undergoing regeneration
2. A biological or spiritual renewal that brings about significant change
3. The phenomenon of a previously existing form being revived or restored to life

Etymology: Palingenesis is the older and more familiar term, built from Greek "palin" meaning "again" and "genesis" meaning "birth" or "origin," so the sense is literally "rebirth." Its Greek roots were put to work in several fields, from Stoic ideas of the world's periodic renewal to later religious and philosophical uses for spiritual regeneration. The form "palingenesēs," with its Latin-style plural ending, reads as a plural of "genesis," which is one reason the word looks so unusual on the page. The probable explanation is that "palingenesēs" grew out of "palingenesis" in English, perhaps through a writer or reader who took the Greek-influenced "genesis" ending for a plural and added a plural form to match. That is an inference from the word's shape rather than a documented event, so it should be read as a likely account rather than a confirmed one.