gene
/d͡ʒiːn/ noun, proper noun
Forms genes
- noun (genetics) A theoretical unit of heredity of living organisms which may take several values and (in principle) predetermines a precise trait of an organism's form (phenotype), such as hair color.
- noun (molecular biology) A segment of DNA or RNA from a cell's or an organism's genome, that may take several forms and thus parameterizes a phenomenon, such as (often) the structure of a protein. “A change in a gene is reflected in the protein or RNA molecule that it codes for.”
- proper noun A diminutive of the male given name Eugene, also used as a formal male given name.
- proper noun A diminutive of the female given name Genevieve
- proper noun A diminutive of the female given name Eugenia
- proper noun A surname
Synonyms
Etymology
From German Gen, from Ancient Greek γενεά (geneá, “generation, descent”), from the aorist infinitive of γίγνομαι (gígnomai, “to come into being”). Coined by Danish botanist Wilhelm Ludwig Johannsen in 1909, in a German-language publication, from the last syllable of pangene.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “gene”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details