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Organism vs Preformation - What's the difference?

organism | preformation |

As nouns the difference between organism and preformation

is that organism is (biology) a discrete and complete living thing, such as animal, plant, fungus or microorganism while preformation is prior formation.

organism

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • (biology) A discrete and complete living thing, such as animal, plant, fungus or microorganism.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Welcome to the plastisphere , passage=Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.}}
  • (by extension) Any complex thing with properties normally associated with living things.
  • Hyponyms

    * See also

    Derived terms

    * free-living organism * organismal * organismic

    preformation

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Prior formation.
  • (biology, historical) The theory that organisms are fully developed in the form of an egg or seed, and just increase in size (as opposed to (epigenesis).
  • *1999 , (Matt Ridley), Genome , Harper Perennial 2004, p. 174:
  • *:Preformation , as even Aristotle spotted, merely postpones the problem, for how did the homunculus get its shape?