gemmule

2 definitions found

gemmule - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Gemmule \Gem"mule\, n. [L. gemmula, dim. of gemma: cf. F.
     gemmule. See Gem.]
     1. (Bot.)
        (a) A little leaf bud, as the plumule between the
            cotyledons.
        (b) One of the buds of mosses.
        (c) One of the reproductive spores of alg[ae].
        (d) An ovule.
            [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Biol.)
        (a) A bud produced in generation by gemmation.
        (b) One of the imaginary granules or atoms which,
            according to Darwin's hypothesis of pangenesis, are
            continually being thrown off from every cell or unit,
            and circulate freely throughout the system, and when
            supplied with proper nutriment multiply by
            self-division and ultimately develop into cells like
            those from which they were derived. They are supposed
            to be transmitted from the parent to the offspring,
            but are often transmitted in a dormant state during
            many generations and are then developed. See
            Pangenesis.
            [1913 Webster]

gemmule - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  gemmule
      n 1: the physically discrete element that Darwin proposed as
           responsible for heredity