gene.
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.
Meaning & usage
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.
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.
Where this word comes from
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.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.