pre-embryo

noun

A fertilized human egg, up to 14 days old, that can develop into an embryo; especially one to be implanted by IVF.

OriginEnglish embryo ← Middle English pre- ← Latin prae- →
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Meanings

nounpre-embryo (plural pre-embryos)

plural pre-embryos

  1. A fertilized human egg, up to 14 days old, that can develop into an embryo; especially one to be implanted by IVF.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*preh₂-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*préh₂i?
  4. Proto-Italic*prai
  5. Proto-Italic*prai-
  6. Latinprae-
  7. Middle Englishpre-
  8. Englishpre-
  9. Englishembryo
  10. Englishpre-embryo

From pre- + embryo.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

pre-embryo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pre-embryo

MLA

“pre-embryo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pre-embryo. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pre-embryo,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pre-embryo.

Source: pre-embryo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.