# gene
## English
### Etymology

From German Gen, from Ancient Greek γενεά (geneá, “generation, descent”), from the aorist infinitive of γίγνομαι (gígnomai, “I come into being”). Coined by Danish botanist Wilhelm Ludwig Johannsen in 1909, in a German-language publication, from the last syllable of pangene.

### Pronunciation

* enPR: jēn, IPA: /d͡ʒiːn/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -iːn
* Homophones: Gene, Jean

### Noun

gene (plural genes)
* (genetics) A theoretical unit of heredity of living organisms; a gene may take several values and in principle predetermines a precise trait of an organism's form (phenotype), such as hair color.
    Coordinate term: phene
    Near-synonym: cistron (often synonymous)
** 2013 June 21, Karen McVeigh, “US rules human genes can't be patented”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 10:The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation.
* (molecular biology) A segment of DNA or RNA from a cell's or an organism's genome, that may take several forms and thus parameterizes a phenomenon, such as (often) the structure of a protein.
    Holonym: locus
    A change in a gene is reflected in the protein or RNA molecule that it codes for.
** 2019, Bill Bryson, The Body: A Guide for Occupants, Black Swan (2020), page 7:A length of DNA is divided into segments called chromosomes and shorter individual units called genes.

#### Usage notes

In the simplest case and in principle, a gene as a locus (or part of one) is supposed to be the physical reality corresponding to the theoretical gene as a unit of heredity; in practice, things are far more complicated and confused, which is well known and acknowledged. However, these questions are the subject of still very active scientific research, as well as the topic of both scientific and philosophical questions, especially on the real compatibility between both senses of the term.

#### Derived terms

* algeny
* antigene
* aristogene
* atrogene
* cene
* cisgene
* control gene
* cream gene
* cytogene
* eigengene
* electrochemogene
* electrogene
* endogene
* gene-altered
* gene bank
* gene cassette
* genechip
* gene complex
* gene drive
* gene-engineered
* gene expression
* gene family
* gene flow
* geneflow
* gene frequency
* gene gun
* geneless
* genelet
* genelike
* gene-manipulated
* gene-modified
* gene-napper
* gene pool
* gene product
* generich
* geneset
* gene silencing
* gene-splicing
* gene splicing
* genet
* gene therapy
* genetic
* geneticist
* genetics
* gene transcription
* gene transfer
* gene trap
* genewise
* genic
* genism
* genome
* genometastasis
* genomics
* genotype
* gerontogene
* glycogene
* histocompatibility gene
* homeobox gene
* horizontal gene transfer
* hox gene
* immunogene
* intergene
* intragene
* jumping gene
* lateral gene transfer
* lethal gene
* marker gene
* metagene
* minigene
* morphogene
* multigene
* oligogene
* osmogene
* pharmacogene
* photogene
* polygene
* proxygene
* pseudogene
* retrogene
* selenogene
* selfish gene
* subgene
* suicide gene
* supergene
* toll gene
* transgene
* unigene
* virogene
* X-linked gene

#### Related terms

* pangene

#### See also

* locus
* allele
* dominant
* recessive

### References

* ↑ Wilhelm Ludvig Johannsen (1909) Elemente der exakten Erblichkeitslehre [Elements of exact heredity]‎ (in German), Jena: Gustav Fischer, page 124: “Darum scheint es am einfachsten, aus Darwin's bekanntem Wort die uns allein interessierende letzte Silbe „Gen“ isoliert zu verwerten, um damit das schlechte, mehrdeutige Wort „Anlage“ zu ersetzen.”

### Further reading

* gene on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

### Anagrams

* Enge

## Danish
### Etymology

From French gêne.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /sjeːnə/, [ˈɕeːnə]

### Noun

gene c (singular definite genen, plural indefinite gener)
* inconvenience, nuisance (something that bothers)
    Røgen fra skorstenen er til gene for naboerne.The smoke from the chimney is bothering the neighbours.

#### Declension
### References

* “gene” in Den Danske Ordbog

## Dutch
### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -eːnə

### Adjective

gene
* inflection of geen:
** masculine/feminine singular attributive
** definite neuter singular attributive
** plural attributive

### Anagrams

* geen, neeg, nege

## Italian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɛ.ne/
* Rhymes: -ɛne
* Hyphenation: gè‧ne

### Etymology 1

From German Gen.

#### Noun

gene m (plural geni)
* (genetics) gene

##### Related terms

* genetica
* genetico
* genetista
* genico
* genotipo

### Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Noun

gene f pl
* plural of gena

## Middle Dutch
### Etymology

From Old Dutch *gēn, from Proto-Germanic *jainaz.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈɣeːnə/

### Determiner

gêne
* that over there, yonder

#### Descendants

* Dutch: geen

### Further reading

* “ghene (II)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
* Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “gene”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN

## Portuguese
### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /ˈʒe.ni/
* (Brazil) IPA: /ˈʒe.ni/
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /ˈʒe.ne/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ˈʒɛ.nɨ/
* Hyphenation: ge‧ne

### Noun

gene m (plural genes)
* (genetics) gene

#### Related terms

* genética
* genético

### Further reading

* “gene”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

## Romanian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈd͡ʒe.ne/
* Rhymes: -ene
* Hyphenation: ge‧ne

### Etymology 1
#### Noun

gene f
* inflection of genă (“gene”):
** indefinite nominative/accusative plural
** indefinite genitive/dative singular

### Etymology 2
#### Noun

gene f
* inflection of geană (“eyelash”):
** indefinite nominative/accusative plural
** indefinite genitive/dative singular

## Spanish
### Noun

gene m (plural genes)
* gene
    Synonym: gen

## Turkish
### Etymology

From Old Turkic *yana (“again”), from Proto-Turkic *yan- (“to return, turn back”).
Cognate with Bashkir және (jəne, “йән”); Kyrgyz жана (jana, “again”), Uzbek yana (“again”), Uyghur يەنە (yene, “again”), Turkmen ýene (“again”),

### Adverb

gene
* (colloquial) again
    Synonym: yine

### Noun

gene
* dative singular of gen