telegony

(tɪˈlɛɡənɪ)

(Genetics) genetics the supposed influence of a previous sire on offspring borne by a female to other sires

[C19: from tele- + -gony. Compare Greek tēlegonos 'born far from one's homeland']

telegonic, teˈlegonous adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

telegony

the supposed transmission of hereditary characteristics from one sire to offspring subsequently born to other sires by the same female. — telegonic, adj.

See also: Heredity

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Six epics with the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" made up the Trojan Cycle -- The "Cyprian Lays", the "Iliad", the "Aethiopis", the "Little Illiad", the "Sack of Troy", the "Returns", the "Odyssey", and the "Telegony".

The answer to these questions was supplied by the "Telegony", a poem in two books by Eugammon of Cyrene (fl.

View in context

The theory is known as ' telegony' and was first proposed by Aristotle in ancient Greece.

Ladies, your baby can look like your ex- lover

The idea that a male can influence the traits in future offspring of a female with which he had once mated is called "telegony." Telegony was first applied to the Greek gods who were thought to be able to work their wiles with human women and later affect future children produced by these women even when their next husbands were mere mortals.

Darwin's invention: inheritance & the "mad dream" of pangenesis

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