[ˈɛmbrɪəʊ], (Noun)

Definitions:
- an unborn or unhatched offspring in the process of development, in particular a human offspring during the period from approximately the second to the eighth week after fertilization (after which it is usually termed a fetus)

- a thing at a rudimentary stage that shows potential for development
(e.g: a simple commodity economy is merely the embryo of a capitalist economy)


Phrases:
- in embryo

Origin:
late Middle English (as embrion): via medieval Latin from Greek embruon ‘fetus’, from em- ‘into’ + bruon ‘moss’, literally ‘something that swells’