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atavist
Variant of atavism
noun
- appearance in an individual of some characteristic found in a remote ancestor but not in nearer ancestors
- such a characteristic
- an individual with such a characteristicalso atavist
Related Forms:
- atavistic adjective or atavic
- atavistically adverb
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.