Historical reference: Do not rely on this information. It is very old. About this collection
Atavism, the appearance in an individual of some peculiarity which was present in a more or less remote ancestor, but which has "skipped" at least one generation. Atavism is of not uncommon occurrence in disease. Thus a child may suffer from asthma, while neither of its parents was ever similarly afflicted, but the disease was present in one of the grandparents.