(biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level; "he proposed an indicator of osseous development in children"
Used in a Sentence
ontogeny
How to use ontogeny in a sentence. Example sentences and definitions for ontogeny.
Editorial note
Is "feeling guilt" a learned skill, or does its ontogeny happen "all on its own"?
Examples7
Definitions1
Parts of speech1
Quick take
(biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level; "he proposed an indicator of osseous development in children"
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of ontogeny gathered in one view.
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for ontogeny.
noun
(biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level; "he proposed an indicator of osseous development in children"
See also: growth, growing, maturation, development, ontogenesis
Example sentences
Is "feeling guilt" a learned skill, or does its ontogeny happen "all on its own"?
Birds' intelligence is especially interesting because the ontogeny differs from that of primates and other mammals like the dolphins.
For example, few GAs implement anything resembling ontogeny or lifetime learning, and generally have a poor genotype/phenotype divide.
<snicker> It's probably as attractive and simplistic as the old saw "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny".
This doesn't really sound like a completely new theory; Haeckel proposed in the 1800s that "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny", and it is widely understood that cancer is like a de-differentiated state.
If one understands drawing in this way, it does not record an independent process of development, rather it documents and reflects its own developmental conditions—and thereby furthers mental ontogeny.
The original formulation was “ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny” and Stephen Jay Gould has written a book on the history of the idea, so I'm not sure if the revision is intentional or due to sloppiness.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use ontogeny in a sentence?
Is "feeling guilt" a learned skill, or does its ontogeny happen "all on its own"?
What does ontogeny mean?
(biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level; "he proposed an indicator of osseous development in children"
What part of speech is ontogeny?
ontogeny is commonly used as noun.