| preformation | (n) 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, Syn. theory of preformation |
| Preformation | n. (Biol.) An old theory of the preëxistence of germs. Cf. Emboîtement. [ 1913 Webster ] |
| 前成説 | [ぜんせいせつ, zenseisetsu] (n) (See 後成説) preformation (theory) [Add to Longdo] |