Preformationist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A proponent of the theory that organisms develop from miniature forms rather than through gradual changes in stages
2. an advocate of the idea that all anatomical structures are pre-existing in a small form
3. someone who supports the belief that development occurs from a pre-formed state rather than through new formation during growth

Etymology: Preformationism was the 17th- and 18th-century theory that every living thing already existed in miniature inside its parent, so that reproduction merely unfolded a complete, tiny organism. Its adherents imagined that the first woman, or the first man, contained within the ovary or sperm a fully formed homunculus, with all later generations nested inside one another like boxes within boxes. The "preformationist" was simply someone who held this view, which is why the word reads as a plain description of a belief rather than a coined term with a single author. The word is built from "preformation," itself from "pre-" meaning "before" and "formation," followed by the English suffix "-ist," which denotes an adherent of a doctrine or practice. The pattern is the same as in "evolutionist" or "creationist," and it follows the regular English habit of turning a theory's name into a label for its believers.

Synonyms: preformation theorist

Antonyms: epigenesist