Standard Lemma guide

superfetation

noun · 3 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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  • /suːpəfəˈteɪʃən/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The formation of a fetus while another fetus is already present in the uterus.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An excessive accumulation; a superfluous addition.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • 1992, Geoffrey Wall, translator of Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary These gentlemen were greatly astonished at Bovary's romantic ideas, and the pharmacist hurried in to say to him: "This velvet looks to me rather a superfetation. Besides, the expense..."

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

fertilization of a second ovum after a pregnancy has begun; results in two fetuses of different ages in the uterus at the same time

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • superfetation is normal in some animal species

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: fertilization, fertilisation, fecundation, impregnation

History

Etymology

From Latin superfetare (“conceive while pregnant”), from super- + fetus.

Across languages

Translations

3 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • French: superfétation — formation of a fetus while another fetus is already present in the uterus.
  • Ido: superfetaciono — formation of a fetus while another fetus is already present in the uterus.
  • Spanish: superfetación — formation of a fetus while another fetus is already present in the uterus.