Standard Lemma guide

orthogenesis

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The hypothesis that evolution tends toward a certain goal, at least at some scales.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, historical, uncountable

Qualifier: evolutionary theory

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From ortho- + -genesis, coined by Wilhelm Haacke in 1893 and popularized with its standard meaning by Theodor Eimer.

Across languages

Translations

10 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: ortogènesi — the hypothesis that evolution tends toward a certain goal
  • Finnish: ortogeneesi — the hypothesis that evolution tends toward a certain goal
  • French: orthogenèse — the hypothesis that evolution tends toward a certain goal
  • German: Orthogenese — the hypothesis that evolution tends toward a certain goal
  • Greek: ορθογένεση (orthogénesi) — the hypothesis that evolution tends toward a certain goal
  • Japanese: 定向進化 (teikōshinka) — the hypothesis that evolution tends toward a certain goal
  • Portuguese: ortogénese — the hypothesis that evolution tends toward a certain goal
  • Portuguese: ortogênese — the hypothesis that evolution tends toward a certain goal
  • Romanian: ortogeneză — the hypothesis that evolution tends toward a certain goal
  • Spanish: ortogénesis — the hypothesis that evolution tends toward a certain goal