English
clone
Clone comes from Ancient Greek κλών ‘twig’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκλώνklṓn‘twig’
- Englishearliest quotation 1984clone
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκλώνklṓn‘twig’
- Englishearliest quotation 1984clone
Earliest quotation: 1984, Martin, Untitled cartoon (caption): “Some of me is clone, but a good part…”
The story
Coined (in botany) in 1903, based on Ancient Greek κλών (klṓn, “twig”). Figurative use from the 1970s.
Every English word from Ancient Greek κλών
Today it means
noun A living organism (originally a plant) produced asexually from a single ancestor, to which it is genetically identical.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek κλών / clone