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embryo

an unborn offspring in early development

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Where does the word "embryo" come from? It comes from Greek embryon, and was adopted directly into English (1580s).

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Where does the word "embryo" come from? It comes from Greek embryon, and was adopted directly into English (1580s).

Embryo’s story begins in Greek: embryon meant “young one.” Greek, 'en', in, plus 'bryein', to swell. It reached English by 1580s as embryo. 'in embryo', undeveloped, dates from the 1600s. Today, embryo means an unborn offspring in early development.

  1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient embryon "young one", Greek, 'en', in, plus 'bryein', to swell.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1580s embryo "unborn young", 'in embryo', undeveloped, dates from the 1600s.

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