'Gemmule' definitions:
Definition of 'gemmule'
From: WordNet
noun
The physically discrete element that Darwin proposed as responsible for heredity
Definition of 'Gemmule'
From: GCIDE
- Gemmule \Gem"mule\, n. [L. gemmula, dim. of gemma: cf. F. gemmule. See Gem.]
- 1. (Bot.) (a) A little leaf bud, as the plumule between the cotyledons. (b) One of the buds of mosses. (c) One of the reproductive spores of alg[ae]. (d) An ovule. [1913 Webster]
- 2. (Biol.) (a) A bud produced in generation by gemmation. (b) One of the imaginary granules or atoms which, according to Darwin's hypothesis of pangenesis, are continually being thrown off from every cell or unit, and circulate freely throughout the system, and when supplied with proper nutriment multiply by self-division and ultimately develop into cells like those from which they were derived. They are supposed to be transmitted from the parent to the offspring, but are often transmitted in a dormant state during many generations and are then developed. See Pangenesis. [1913 Webster]