The Collaborative International Dictionary
Emboitement
Emboitement \Em`bo[^i]te"ment`\, n. [F., fr. embo[^i]ter to fit
in, insert; en in + bo[^i]te box.] (Biol.)
The hypothesis that all living things proceed from
pre["e]xisting germs, and that these encase the germs of all
future living things, inclosed one within another.
--Buffon.
Wiktionary
emboîtement
n. (context biology archaic English) The outdated hypothesis that all living things proceed from pre-existing germs, and that these encase the germs of all future living things, enclosed one within another.