genotype etymology

Etymology

  • Greek:
    • genos ("birth", "kind", "family")
    • typos ("impression", "pattern")

Meaning

  • The genetic constitution of an individual or a group of individuals.
  • The genetic makeup of an organism or population.

Origin

The term "genotype" was first coined by Wilhelm Johannsen in 1909 to distinguish between the genetic makeup of an organism and its observable traits (phenotype). Johannsen recognized that the genetic information passed down from parents to offspring is different from the visible characteristics of the offspring.

He used the term "genotype" to refer to the genetic makeup or inheritance of an individual, while "phenotype" referred to the observable characteristics of that individual. This distinction became a fundamental concept in genetics, allowing for the study of the relationship between genes and traits.

The word "genotype" has since been expanded to refer to the genetic makeup of a population or a species as a whole. It is often used to describe the distribution of different alleles (alternative forms of a gene) within a population and how these alleles contribute to the variation in observable traits.

genotype relate terms

  • gene

    Etymology Gene is derived from the Greek word genos meaning descendant lineage

  • genus

    Etymology Latin genus meaning kind type or class Meaning In biology a

  • type

    Etymology Etymology is the study of the origin of words and the way that their meaning ha

  • composition

    Etymology Latin compositus put together arranged framed Present participle of comp

  • make up

    Etymology Make Old English macian meaning to form create or produce Up Old Eng

  • constitution

    Etymology The word constitution originates from the Latin word constitutio which me

  • scissors

    Etymology The word scissors is derived from the Old French word ciseor pair of scis

  • left

    Etymology The word left comes from the Old English word lyft meaning weak or wo

  • Mercury

    Etymology Latin Mercurius Greek Ἑρμῆς Hermēs Meaning Messenger or g

  • peter

    Etymology and Meaning The name Peter is derived from the Greek word πέτρος pet

  • interpolate

    Etymology The word interpolate derives from the Latin interpolare which means to al