Im`preg*na"tion (?), n. [Cf. F.
imprégnation, LL. impraegnatio.]
1. The act of impregnating or the state of being
impregnated; fecundation.
2. (Biol.) The fusion of a female germ
cell (ovum) with a male germ cell (in animals, a spermatozoön)
to form a single new cell endowed with the power of developing into a
new individual; fertilization; fecundation.
&fist; In the broadest biological sense, impregnation, or sexual
generation, consists simply in the coalescence of two similar masses
of protoplasmic matter, either derived from different parts of the
same organism or from two distinct organisms. From the single mass,
which results from the fusion, or coalescence, of these two masses, a
new organism develops.
3. That with which anything is
impregnated. Derham.
4. Intimate mixture; infusion;
saturation.
5. (Mining) An ore deposit, with
indefinite boundaries, consisting of rock impregnated with ore.
Raymond.
