gene
/dʒiːn/
noun
Origin
Greek
genos — birth, race, descent
Overview
Meaning Now
- A unit of heredity which is transferred from a parent to offspring and is held to determine some characteristic of the offspring.
- A distinct sequence of nucleotides forming part of a chromosome, the order of which determines the order of monomers in a polypeptide or nucleic acid molecule.
Literal older meaning
that which is produced or born
Language path
Greek → German → English
Earliest form
gene
Earliest period
1909
Journey
The term was introduced by Danish botanist Wilhelm Johannsen to distinguish the physical unit of heredity from the observable trait (phenotype) and the organism's total genetic makeup (genotype).
Evolution
- Proto-Indo-European
*ǵenh₁-
“to produce, beget”
The foundational root for creation and birth.
- Ancient Greek
génesis
“origin, creation”
Derivative stem leading to scientific terminology.
- German (1889)
Pangen
“hypothetical unit of inheritance”
Coined by Hugo de Vries.
- English (1909)
gene
“unit of heredity”
Coined by Wilhelm Johannsen to replace 'pangen'.
Connections
Word parts
gene
root
birth/origin
Related across languages
Latin
genus
birth, race, kind
Sanskrit
janati
he is born
Explore next
Related to gene
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.