fissiparous
adjective
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When it first entered English in the 19th century, "fissiparous" was concerned with reproduction. In biology, a fissiparous organism is one that produces new individuals by fission; that is, by dividing into separate parts, each of which becomes a unique organism. (Most strains of bacteria do this.) Fissiparous derives from Latin fissus, the past participle of "findere" ("to split"), and parere, meaning "to give birth to or "to produce." Other "parere" offspring refer to other forms of reproduction, including "oviparous" ("producing eggs that hatch outside the body") and "viviparous" ("producing living young instead of eggs"). By the end of the 19th century "fissiparous" had acquired a figurative meaning, describing something that breaks into parts or causes something else to break into parts.
Examples of fissiparous in a Sentence
Gerard Baker, WSJ, 9 Jan. 2023
The abolition movement had reached its fissiparous stage, splitting into warring factions, a development that Child resisted.
—James Marcus, WSJ, 4 Nov. 2022
When the year began, Nicholas II was clinging to his throne, Lenin was an exile in Zurich and the Bolsheviks were just one faction in a fissiparous revolutionary underground.
—Andrew Stuttaford, WSJ, 29 Sep. 2017
Dictionary Entries Near fissiparous
Cite this Entry
“Fissiparous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fissiparous. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
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fissiparous
adjective
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