1833, from French atavisme, attested by 1820s, from Latin atavus "ancestor, forefather," from at- perhaps here meaning "beyond" + avus "grandfather," from PIE *awo- "adult male relative other than the father" (see uncle).
权威例句
1. They are explainable as a species of mental atavism.
这些都可以解释为一种精神的返祖现象.
2. The civilization craftsman mythology usually exceeds the originality craftsman mythology, though sometimes with the atavism.
文明社会的工匠神话对原始工匠神话多有超越, 但有时又出现返祖现象.
3. The atavism appears in the crisscross inheritance as well as in the other genetic way.