Standard Lemma guide
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.
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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.
noun
A mechanism of spontaneous, indirect coordination between agents or actions, where the trace left in the environment by an action stimulates the performance of a subsequent action.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Topics: biology, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A mechanism of indirect coordination between agents or actions, in which the aftereffects of one action guide a subsequent action.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Topics: mathematics, sciences, systems-theory
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Coined in 1959 by French biologist Pierre-Paul Grassé in reference to termite behaviour, from the Ancient Greek στίγμα (stígma, “mark”, “sign”) + ἔργον (érgon, “work”, “action”).
