embryo

Meaning

Noun

• In the reproductive cycle, the stage after the fertilization of the egg that precedes the development into a fetus.
• An organism in the earlier stages of development before it emerges from the egg, or before metamorphosis.
• In viviparous animals, the young animal's earliest stages in the mother's body
• In humans, usually the cell growth up to the end of the seventh week in the mother's body
• A rudimentary plant contained in the seed.
• The beginning; the first stage of anything.

Origin

• Borrowed from Medieval Latin embryō, from Ancient Greek ἔμβρυον ("fetus"), from ἐν + βρύω. Possibly related to Hebrew עֻבָּר ("fetus, embryo") ('ʊbar).