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recombinant

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Etymology and origin of the English word recombinant

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1940 Science More words from the 20th century
Ultimate origins
English recombineAnglo-Norman -ant

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌriːˈkɒmbɪnənt/, /rɪˈkɒmbɪnənt/[1]
  • US: /ˌriːˈkɑːmbənənt/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English recombine + -ant,[2][3][4] or, according to Merriam-Webster Unabridged, from recombination and -ant.[5] The verb recombine is formed from re- and combine.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Both the adjective, of genetic material formed by recombination, and the noun, a recombinant organism or cell, are first recorded in the journal Science of 8 November 1940.[2][5] Etymonline dates the adjective to 1942.[3]

Semantic evolution

The word was coined in genetics, where recombination had been used of the rearrangement of hereditary material since 1903.[2] With the rise of genetic engineering it came to describe material made by joining pieces of DNA from different organisms, above all in recombinant DNA,[4][6][5] and products made by that technique, such as a recombinant growth hormone.[5][2]

Timeline

  • 1940 – adjective, formed by genetic recombination; noun, a recombinant organism, cell or piece of genetic material.[2][5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (genetics) Formed by or showing genetic recombination: a recombinant chromosome.[6][5][7]
  2. Relating to or containing genetically engineered DNA; produced by genetic engineering.[5][6][2]

Noun

  1. (genetics) An organism, cell or virus in which genetic recombination has taken place.[6][5][7]
  2. Material produced by genetic engineering.[6][2]

Word family

  • nonrecombinant
  • recombinase
  • recombinant DNA

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Recombinant.” Etymologically, 8 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/recombinant. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·