genetics
This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 03:36. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Pronunciation
- IPA: /dʒəˈnɛt.ɪks/, /dʒɪ-/[1]
Etymology
It is from genetic with the suffix -ics,[2][3][4] coined in its biological sense by the English biologist William Bateson.[2][5][3]
Earliest recorded meaning
The principles or laws of origination: 1872, a rare sense, now obsolete.[3][2][4]
Semantic evolution
In 1896 the American sociologist Lester Ward used it for the study of natural development without human interference.[3] The biological sense, the science of heredity and of variation passed down the generations, appears in a letter by Bateson of 18 April 1905,[3][6] although Etymonline dates "study of heredity" to 1891.[2] By extension it also means the genetic make-up of an organism or group.[6][4]
Timeline
- 1872 – the laws of origination (obsolete).[3][2]
- 1896 – in sociology (obsolete).[3]
- 1905 – the science of heredity, in Bateson.[3][6]
Modern meaning
Noun
- The branch of biology that studies heredity and how traits vary between related organisms.
- The genetic make-up of an organism, species or group.
Word family
- geneticist
- biogenetics
- cytogenetics
- immunogenetics
- neurogenetics
- pharmacogenetics
- molecular genetics
- population genetics
Related words
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
- ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster