Link Centre Dictionary

gene

UK/ˈd͡ʒiːn/ US/ˈdʒin/ common

noun

1.

(genetics) a segment of DNA that is involved in producing a polypeptide chain; it can include regions preceding and following the coding DNA as well as introns between the exons; it is considered a unit of heredity

  • “genes were formerly called factors”
Synonyms

Origin

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.

Phrases

  • Angelina Jolie gene
  • control gene
  • cream gene
  • Gene Autry given name
  • gene bank
  • gene cassette
  • gene complex
  • gene drive
  • gene expression

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.