impregnation

Im`preg*na"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. imprégnation, LL. impraegnatio.] 1. The act of impregnating or the state of being impregnated; fecundation. 2. (Biol.) Defn: The fusion of a female germ cell (ovum) with a male germ cell (in animals, a spermatozoön) to form a single new cell endowed with the power of developing into a new individual; fertilization; fecundation. Note: In the broadest biological sense, impregnation, or sexual generation, consists simply in the coalescence of two similar masses of protoplasmic matter, either derived from different parts of the same organism or from two distinct organisms. From the single mass, which results from the fusion, or coalescence, of these two masses, a new organism develops. 3. That with which anything is impregnated. Derham. 4. Intimate mixture; influsion; saturation. 5. (Mining) Defn: An ore deposit, with indefinite boundaries, consisting of rock impregnated with ore. Raymond.

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