embryo

¹

[ em-bree-oh ]

noun

, plural em·bry·os.

1. the young of a viviparous animal, especially of a mammal, in the early stages of development within the womb, in humans up to the end of the second month. Compare fetus.
2. the rudimentary plant usually contained in the seed.
3. any multicellular animal in a developmental stage preceding birth or hatching.
4. the beginning or rudimentary stage of anything:

   He charged that the party policy was socialism in embryo.

adjective

1. embryonic.

embryo-

²

1. a combining form representing embryo in compound words:

   embryology.

embryo

/ ˈɛmbrɪˌəʊ /

noun

1. an animal in the early stages of development following cleavage of the zygote and ending at birth or hatching
2. the human product of conception up to approximately the end of the second month of pregnancy Compare fetus
3. a plant in the early stages of development: in higher plants, the plumule, cotyledons, and radicle within the seed
4. an undeveloped or rudimentary state (esp in the phrase in embryo )
5. something in an early stage of development

   an embryo of an idea

embryo

/ ĕm′brē-ō′ /

1. An animal in its earliest stage of development, before all the major body structures are represented. In humans, the embryonic stage lasts through the first eight weeks of pregnancy. In humans, other placental mammals, and other viviparous animals, young born as embryos cannot thrive. In marsupials, the young are born during the embryonic stage and complete their development outside the uterus, attached to a teat within the mother's pouch.
2. The developing young of an egg-laying animal before hatching.
3. The sporophyte of a plant in its earliest stages of development, such as the miniature, partially developed plant contained within a seed before germination.

embryo

1. A developing plant or animal. A plant embryo is an undeveloped plant inside a seed. An animal embryo is the animal as it develops from the single cell of the zygote until birth. Among humans and most other mammals , the embryo is carried in the mother's womb.

Notes

The term is occasionally used to denote a new or developing idea or project: “The idea for the complete theory was already present in his work, in embryo form, in 1950.”

Derived Forms

• ˈembryˌoid, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of embryo¹

First recorded in 1580–90; from Medieval Latin embryo, embryon-, from Greek émbryon, noun use of neuter of émbryos “ingrowing,” equivalent to em- “in” + bry- (stem of brýein “to swell”) + -os adjective suffix; em- ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of embryo¹

C16: from Late Latin, from Greek embruon, from bruein to swell

Example Sentences

The 30 or so eggs initially harvested from Georgie resulted in a single embryo that became their first baby in 2016, she recalled.

From BBC

However, in 2022, conservative lawmakers in the state put a so-called “Born Alive” ballot measure that would have declared an embryo or fetus as a legal person in front of voters, which they rejected.

From Salon

They created a new exception for ectopic pregnancies, a potentially fatal condition where the embryo attaches outside the uterine cavity, and for cases where a patient’s membranes rupture prematurely before viability, which introduces a high risk of infection.

From Salon

The fertilised egg, called an embryo, is then returned to the woman's womb to grow and develop.

From BBC

Instructions for turning genes on and off are sent all across the developing embryo and continue after birth into adulthood to develop all our different organs and tissues.

From BBC