nonself

See also: non-self

English

Etymology

non- +‎ self

Noun

nonself (countable and uncountable, plural nonselfs or nonselves)

  1. (philosophy, psychology) Any entity other than oneself.
    • 2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:
      In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.
  2. (immunology, uncountable) All agents and substances that are not the body's own.
    • 1961, George F. Vande Woude, George Klein, Advances in Cancer Research‎:
      In his classic monograph describing the clonal selection theory of the immune response, Burnet (1959) suggested that the immune system distinguishes between self (no antibody response) and nonself (antibody response).

Adjective

nonself

  1. (immunology) Of nonself origin.
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