atavism

UK:  ['ætəvɪzəm]

US:  [ætə'vɪzəm]

复数：atavisms  

n.

1.呈现返祖现象的人

2.【医学】隔代遗传,返祖(现象),返祖性

1 . have even read in a book of criminology that the tramp is an atavism, a throw-back to the nomadic stage of humanity.
我甚至在一本关于犯罪学的书上读到过流浪是种隔代遗传现象，是向人类之游牧阶段的回归。

2 . The civilization craftsman mythology usually exceeds the originality craftsman mythology, though sometimes with the atavism.
文明社会的工匠神话对原始工匠神话多有超越，但有时又出现返祖现象。

3 . The capacity of somatic cells to evolve is an atavism, as this property is lost in the transition of uni- to multicellularity.
体细胞的自主演化能力是一种返祖现象，因为在单细胞生物体转变为多细胞生物体时这种特性已经丧失。

4 . Now we are not sure that he has atavism, because such a diagnosis needs more high-tech inspection.
目前还不能肯定陈聪华是一种返祖现象，需要利用高科技手段对其进行进一步的诊断。

5 . One striking example of an atavism is the human coccyx, or tailbone, which is a relic of the mammalian tail.
关于返祖的一个有力例证就是人类的尾骨，它是哺乳动物尾巴的遗留物。