atavistical

English

Etymology

atavistic + -al

Adjective

atavistical (comparative more atavistical, superlative most atavistical)

  1. atavistic
    • 1914, Francis H. Buzzacott, Mystery of the Sexes: Secrets of Past and Future Human Creationism, page 39:
      Atavistical reversions: In biology the restoration of structural characters which have long been lost or obscured; near return to an original type occurring through partly modified descendants; resemblance to remote ancestors or progenitors; partial return, through hereditary influences, of remote ancestral forms.
    • 1931, H. P. Lovecraft, chapter 1, in The Whisperer in Darkness:
      All the legendry, of course, white and Indian alike, died down during the nineteenth century, except for occasional atavistical flareups.
    • 1996, Hilton Hotema, The Great Red Dragon, Health Research, page 44:
      Atavistical reversion may reach back to the very beginning of humanity, and some qualities of the first Great Mother may appear in the child of today.

Derived terms

Translations

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.