genetics English · revision 16142

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1872}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /dʒəˈnɛt.ɪks/, /dʒɪ-/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is from ''[[genetic]]'' with the suffix ''[[-ics]]'',^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) coined in its biological sense by the English biologist [[m|en|William Bateson]].^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The principles or laws of origination: 1872, a rare sense, now obsolete.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In 1896 the American sociologist Lester Ward used it for the study of natural development without human interference.^(OED 2026) The biological sense, the science of [[heredity]] and of variation passed down the generations, appears in a letter by Bateson of 18 April 1905,^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) although Etymonline dates "study of heredity" to 1891.^(Etymonline) By extension it also means the genetic make-up of an organism or group.^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1872 – the laws of origination (obsolete).^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1896 – in sociology (obsolete).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1905 – the science of heredity, in Bateson.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The branch of [[biology]] that studies [[heredity]] and how [[trait|alt=traits]] vary between related organisms.^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The genetic make-up of an organism, species or group.^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[geneticist]]

+ * [[biogenetics]]

+ * [[cytogenetics]]

+ * [[immunogenetics]]

+ * [[neurogenetics]]

+ * [[pharmacogenetics]]

+ * [[molecular genetics]]

+ * [[population genetics]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[genetic]]

+ * [[gene]]

+ * [[genesis]]

+ * [[genome]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}