English
gene
Gene comes from German Gen, coined in 1909 by Johannsen from the last syllable of pangene; compare Greek γενεά ‘generation, descent’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγενεάgeneá‘generation, descent’
- Germanc. 1650–presentGen
- Englishearliest quotation 2013gene
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγενεάgeneá‘generation, descent’
- Germanc. 1650–presentGen
- Englishearliest quotation 2013gene
Earliest quotation: 2013, Karen McVeigh, US rules human genes can't be patented: “The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural…”
The story
Coined by Danish botanist Wilhelm Ludwig Johannsen in 1909, in a German-language publication, from the last syllable of pangene.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’
kind, king, nature, nation, native, german, pregnant, engine, indigenous, naive, genius, ken, kin, noel, genuine, gentle, transgender, innate, natal, nativity, nada, naïve, janata, genital, ingenious, nascent, germ, puny, degenerate, nee, cognate, degeneration, regenerate, jaunty, gentile, gingerly, azadi, genial, genteel, engender, 105 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os ‘race, lineage’
gender, oxygen, hydrogen, genre, genuinely, genocide, regeneration, genus, glycogen, estrogenic, 31 more
Today it means
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.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek γενεά / gene