abiogenesis

noun

1. the now discredited theory that living organisms can arise spontaneously from inanimate matter; spontaneous generation.
2. the theory that the earliest life forms on earth developed from nonliving matter.Compare biogenesis.

noun

1. Also called: autogenesis the hypothetical process by which living organisms first arose on earth from nonliving matter
2. another name for spontaneous generation Compare biogenesis

1. See spontaneous generation.