gene en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /d͡ʒiːn/
- jēn
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.
Meanings
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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)
The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation.
2013 June 21, Karen McVeigh, “US rules human genes can't be patented”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 10:
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(qualifier: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.
One way to define a gene (there are many, and they are not all equivalent) is as the bit of DNA that contains the information needed to make a specific protein or a functional RNA molecule.
2025, The Economist staff, “Primer 1: Nucleic acids and proteins”, in The Economist (Biology Primers series), retrieved 18 Oct 2025:A change in a gene is reflected in the protein or RNA molecule that it codes for.
A length of DNA is divided into segments called chromosomes and shorter individual units called genes.
2019, Bill Bryson, The Body: A Guide for Occupants, Black Swan (2020), page 7:Holonym: locus
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| genes | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Coordinates
Deriveds
morphogene · intergene · Jolie gene · cisgene · geneset · gene-napper · horizontal gene transfer · geneticist · gene gun · gene silencing · gene pool · polygene · intragene · Angelina Jolie gene · pangene · gene complex · oligogene · genometastasis · supergene · gene family · lateral gene transfer · genic · histocompatibility gene · control gene · gene trap · gene product · gene-altered · genewise · gene-modified · atrogene · cytogene · genetics · aristogene · retrogene · osmogene · marker gene · selenogene · gene transcription · subgene · multigene · metagene · gene cassette · transgene · gene transfer · genism · immunogene · genet · gene drive · geneflow · genetic · photogene · electrogene · toll gene · generich · virogene · electrochemogene · homeobox gene · gene splicing · genechip · antigene · unigene · X-linked gene · gene therapy · algeny · jumping gene · genelike · eigengene · gene-engineered · genelet · selfish gene · gene flow · proxygene · lethal gene · cene · genome · suicide gene · pharmacogene · oncogene · gerontogene · minigene · hox gene · glycogene · gene frequency · gene expression · pseudogene · genomics · endogene · gene-manipulated · gene bank · geneless · cream gene
Relateds
dominant · locus · allele · recessive
Synonyms
Translations (93)
kk ген (unit of heredity) · sl gen (unit of heredity) · mn ген (unit of heredity) · ar جِين (unit of heredity) · vi gen (unit of heredity) · es gen (unit of heredity) · lt genas (unit of heredity) · uk спадко́вень (unit of heredity) · de Gen (unit of heredity) · fi perintötekijä (unit of heredity) · frp jéno (unit of heredity) · is gen (unit of heredity) · tl hene (unit of heredity) · it gene (unit of heredity) · bn বংশাণু (unit of heredity) · nan-hbl 遺傳子 /遗传子 (unit of heredity) · el γονίδιο (unit of heredity) · si ජාන (unit of heredity) · pt gene (unit of heredity) · tr gen (unit of heredity) · ko 유전자 (unit of heredity) · bg ген (unit of heredity) · fo arvaeind (unit of heredity) · ky ген (unit of heredity) · sh ген (unit of heredity) · pl gen (unit of heredity) · et geen (unit of heredity) · sh gen (unit of heredity) · uk ген (unit of heredity) · bn জিন (unit of heredity) · nb gen (unit of heredity) · ln kobóta (unit of heredity) · la genum (unit of heredity) · fi geeni (unit of heredity) · hu gén (unit of heredity) · ur وراثہ (unit of heredity) · chr ᏧᏚᎪᏛᏅ ᏂᏣᎵᏍᏙᏗ (unit of heredity) · az gen (unit of heredity) · hi जीन (unit of heredity) · gd gine (unit of heredity) · ru ген (unit of heredity) · gu જનીન (unit of heredity) · id gen (unit of heredity) · mn ᠭᠧᠨ (unit of heredity) · cs vloha (unit of heredity) · te జన్యువు (unit of heredity) · ro genă (unit of heredity) · nl gen (unit of heredity) · gl xene (unit of heredity) · mk ген (unit of heredity) · eo geno (unit of heredity) · fr gène (unit of heredity) · cs gen (unit of heredity) · he גֶּן (unit of heredity) · ne वंशाणु (unit of heredity) · kn ವಂಶವಾಹಿ (unit of heredity) · th หน่วยพันธุกรรม (unit of heredity) · fo ílega (unit of heredity) · sk gén (unit of heredity) · yi גען (unit of heredity) · ta மரபணு (unit of heredity) · da gen (unit of heredity) · fa ژن (unit of heredity) · sv gen (unit of heredity) · km កត្តាបន្តពូជ (unit of heredity) · ml ജീൻ (unit of heredity) · tk gen (unit of heredity) · lv gēns (unit of heredity) · be ген (unit of heredity) · ka გენი (unit of heredity) · ca gen (unit of heredity) · tg ген (unit of heredity) · vo gered (unit of heredity) · hi पित्रैक (unit of heredity) · ta பரம்பரை அலகு (unit of heredity) · km ហ្សែន (unit of heredity) · ar مُوَرِّثَة (unit of heredity) · cmn 基因 (unit of heredity) · hy գեն (unit of heredity) · vi di tố (unit of heredity) · ms gen (unit of heredity) · km សែន (unit of heredity) · io geno (unit of heredity) · ur جین (unit of heredity) · ja 遺伝子 (unit of heredity) · hi वंशाणु (unit of heredity) · af geen (unit of heredity) · nan-hbl 基因 (unit of heredity) · es gene (unit of heredity) · uz gen (unit of heredity) · lo ກະລະລະ (unit of heredity) · ga géin (unit of heredity) · sq gjen (unit of heredity)