PARTHENOGENY

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

I. (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Process in which an unfertilized egg develops into a new individual; common among insects and some other arthropods

Synonyms:

parthenogenesis; parthenogeny

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Hypernyms ("parthenogeny" is a kind of...):

apomixis (any of several kinds of reproduction without fertilization)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "parthenogeny"):

androgenesis; androgeny (male parthenogenesis in which the embryo contains only paternal chromosomes due to the failure of the egg nucleus to participate in fertilization)

gynogenesis (female parthenogenesis in which the embryo contains only maternal chromosomes due to the failure of the sperm to fuse with the egg nucleus)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Human conception without fertilization by a man

Synonyms:

parthenogenesis; parthenogeny; virgin birth