Theory of Preformation

nounverified·updated May 18, 2026

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a theory (popular in the 18th century and now discredited) that an individual develops by simple enlargement of a tiny fully formed organism (a homunculus) that exists in the germ cell

MWE

Classifications

per-axis with provenance

Entity Type

Unknown—authoritativeglossary_import_default_pending_classifier

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Sensitivity

unclassified

Information Class

unclassified

Variants

4 surface forms

synonym: preformation
plural: Theory of Preformations
possessive: Theory of Preformation's
pluralpossessive: Theory of Preformations'

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