1. The reappearance of a characteristic in an organism after several generations of absence, usually caused by the chance recombination of genes. 2. An individual or a part that exhibits atavism. Also called throwback. 3. The return of a trait or recurrence of previous behavior after a period of absence.
ETYMOLOGY:
French atavisme, from Latin atavus, ancestor : atta, father + avus, grandfather; see awo- in Appendix I.
t
-v
z
