atavism
[noun]
Synonyms: reversion, throwback

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

atavism noun. ['atǝvɪz(ǝ)m] M19.
[French atavisme, from Latin atavus great-grandfather's grandfather, forefather, from at- beyond + avus grandfather: see -ISM.]
Resemblance to more remote ancestors rather than to parents; tendency of animals or plants to revert to an ancestral type.

■ atavic [ǝ'tavɪk] adjective = atavistic M19.

■ ata'vistic adjective of, pertaining to, or of the nature of atavism L19.

■ ata'vistically adverb L19.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲