Definition of: palingenesis

(pal′in·jen′ə·sis) noun
1. A new or second birth into a higher or better life or being; a regeneration; theory or belief that souls are continually reborn.
2. Biol. The development of an individual in which the ethnic or group history of its ancestors is repeated: opposed to cenogenesis.
3. Entomol. The metamorphosis of an insect.
4. Obs. The supposed generation of an animal from an organism on which it is parasitic or from decaying animal matter. [<NL <Gk. palin again + GENESIS]
—pal′in·ge·net′ic (-jə·net′ik) adjective