A structure that has lost most or all of its original function through evolution but remains present in reduced form. These organs provide evidence of evolutionary history and common ancestry.
From Latin 'vestigium' meaning 'footprint or trace' and Greek 'organon' meaning 'tool or instrument'. The term emerged in the 19th century as anatomists identified structures that appeared to be evolutionary remnants of once-functional organs.
Your appendix, wisdom teeth, and the muscles that make your hair stand up are all evolutionary leftovers from when your ancestors needed to digest tough plant matter, had bigger jaws, and could puff up their fur to look threatening! We're basically walking museums of our evolutionary past.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.