atavism
/ˈætəˌvɪzəm/ · noun
Meaning
- The reappearance of an ancestral characteristic in an organism after several generations of absence.
- The recurrence or reversion to a past behaviour, method, characteristic or style after a long period of absence.
- Reversion to past primitive behavior, especially violence.
Etymology / origin
No prose etymology has been added yet.
No ancestor words have been linked yet.
Related words
Descendant words
No descendant words have been linked yet.