Re*gen`er*a"tion (-?"sh?n), n. [L.
regeneratio: cf. F. régéneration.]
1. The act of regenerating, or the state of being
regenerated.
2. (Theol.) The entering into a new
spiritual life; the act of becoming, or of being made, Christian; that
change by which holy affectations and purposes are substituted for the
opposite motives in the heart.
He saved us by the washing of regeneration, and
renewing of the Holy Chost.
Tit. iii. 5.
3. (Biol.) The reproduction of a part
which has been removed or destroyed; re-formation; -- a process
especially characteristic of a many of the lower animals; as, the
regeneration of lost feelers, limbs, and claws by spiders and
crabs.
4. (Physiol.) (a) The
reproduction or renewal of tissues, cells, etc., which have been used
up and destroyed by the ordinary processes of life; as, the continual
regeneration of the epithelial cells of the body, or the
regeneration of the contractile substance of muscle.
(b) The union of parts which have been severed,
so that they become anatomically perfect; as, the regeneration
of a nerve.
