archigenesis

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The genesis of the first living beings in the history of the earth. While there is no reason to believe that the first appearance of life on earth was abrupt, or that, if one had witnessed it, he could have recognized the exact point when the boundary between lifeless matter and the first living things was passed, belief in the fact of a first origin of life (archigenesis) seems to be logical and necessary.