gene

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   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.

   Near-synonym: cistron (often synonymous)

2. 2
   noun

   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.

   Holonym: locus

3. 3
   noun

   (genetics) a segment of DNA that is involved in producing a polypeptide chain

4. 4
   name

   A unisex given name.

5. 5
   name

   A surname

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.