Definition of "gemmule" [gem•mule]

• A small gemma or similar structure, especially a reproductive structure in some sponges that remains dormant through the winter and later develops into a new individual. (noun)
• A hypothetical particle of heredity postulated to be the mediating factor in the production of new cells in the theory of pangenesis. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Who cares, after all, that Darwin got his physical theory of inheritance wrong (basing it on a nonexistent entity called the "gemmule")?"
• "Darwin's keen analogy of the fertilization of plants by pollen renders development from without conceivable, but as there are no insects to convey gemmules to their destination, each kind of gemmule would have to be exceedingly numerous and easily attracted from amongst an inconceivable number of other gemmules."
• "The "gemmule" of a Halimeda contained several articulations united, ready to burst their envelope, and become attached to some basis."