genetics
/dʒəˈnɛt.ɪks/ noun
- noun (biology) The branch of biology that deals with the transmission and variation of inherited characteristics, in particular chromosomes and DNA.
- noun (biology) The genetic makeup of a specific individual or species.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Ancient Greek γένεσις (génesis, “origin”). Coined by English biologist William Bateson in 1905 in a letter to zoologist Adam Sedgwick, and first used publicly by Bateson at a lecture to the International Conference on Plant Hybridization in 1906.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “genetics”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details