embryo
/ˈembrɪəʊ/noun
(pl. -os)
1- an unborn or unhatched offspring in the process of development胚, 胚胎。
1.1
- an unborn human offspring, especially in the first eight weeks from conception, after implantation but before all the organs are developed（尤指怀孕了8周的）胎儿。 比较 FETUS.
1.2
- Botany the part of a seed which develops into a plant, consisting (in the mature embryo of a higher plant) of a plumule, a radicle, and one or two cotyledons【植】胚。
1.3
- figurative a thing at a rudimentary stage that shows potential for development〈喻〉萌芽状态的事物; 发展初期的事物：
a simple commodity economy is merely the embryo of a capitalist economy
简单的商品经济只是资本主义经济的萌芽
as modifier an embryo central bank.初期的中央银行。
短语
in embryo
- at a rudimentary stage with the potential for further development在胚胎阶段; 处于萌芽状态。
派生词
embryonal
/ˈembrɪənəl/ adjective词源
late Middle English: via late Latin from Greek embruon 'fetus', from em - 'into' + bruein 'swell, grow'.