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Glite Dictionary
pangen

pangen

9.9
A tiny part once thought to carry traits from parents inside cells
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : pangen
  • Darwin proposed the existence of the pangen in his hypothesis of pangenesis.

Examples

  • The theory involving the pangen was eventually disproved by advances in genetics.

  • In the nineteenth century, scientists speculated that a pangen carried hereditary information in cells.

  • The scientist proposed the existence of a pangen to explain heredity.

  • Many early geneticists believed in the concept of pangens.

  • Darwin proposed the existence of the pangen in his hypothesis of pangenesis.

  • In the nineteenth century, scientists speculated that a pangen carried hereditary information in cells.

  • The theory involving the pangen was eventually disproved by advances in genetics.

Synonyms

gemmule
vspangen
  • Archaic
9.9

A tiny imagined particle Darwin thought carried inherited traits

is a broader early theory term for such particles not tied to Darwin alone

Surface Forms

pangen singular
pangens plural

Morphology

pangen = gene (semi-transparent) = pan + gene

The parts 'pan-' (all) and 'gene' (unit of heredity) are recognizable to many learners, but 'pangen' is a specialised historical/scientific coinage so the exact meaning is not directly inferable for average learners.

Etymology

Pangen comes from the Greek parts pan- 'all' and gen 'birth' or 'origin'. Darwin used it for a tiny imagined particle thought to come from 'all' parts of the body to carry traits, so a pangen was an early idea of what we now call a gene.