de-extinct

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English

Etymology

From de- +‎ extinct.

Verb

de-extinct (third-person singular simple present de-extincts, present participle de-extincting, simple past and past participle de-extincted)

  1. (biology, neologism, transitive) To return an extinct species back into the world.
    Synonym: unextinct
    • 2016, Helen Pilcher, Bring Back the King: the new science of de-extinction, Bloomsbury Sigma, →ISBN, page 16:
      In 2012, Australian researchers briefly de-extincted an amphibian they dubbed ‘the Lazarus frog’ (Rheobatrachus silus), an unusual creature with one hell of a party trick (to find out what it was, you’ll have to read Chapter 5).
    • 2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 308:
      From a technical perspective, de-extincting a Neanderthal would be the easiest task of all, for human reproduction is extremely well understood, and the Neanderthal genome is known.
    • 2020, “Life Finds A Way”, in Jonathan Elmore, editor, Fiction and the Sixth Mass Extinction, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN:
      Revive & Restore, a branch of the Long Now Foundation, is currently attempting to de-extinct the passenger pigeon in a project called The Great Comeback.