atavistic

at·a·vism  (t-vzm)

n.

1. The reappearance of a characteristic in an organism after several generations of absence, usually caused by the chance recombination of genes.

2. An individual or a part that exhibits atavism. Also called throwback.

3. The return of a trait or recurrence of previous behavior after a period of absence.

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[French atavisme, from Latin atavus, ancestor : atta, father + avus, grandfather; see awo- in Indo-European roots.]

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ata·vist n.

ata·vistic adj.

ata·visti·cal·ly adv.

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atavistic  (t-vstk)

Relating to an inherited trait that reappears in an individual after being absent from a strain of organism for several generations. Atavistic traits were formerly thought to be throwbacks to ancestral types but are now known to be due to the inheritance of a pair of recessive genes.

Thesaurus

Adj.

1.

atavistic - characteristic of an atavist throwback regressive - opposing progress; returning to a former less advanced state