Added 9 October 2026
gene
/d͡ʒiːn/ noun
In Latin: genum Coined: 1909, by Wilhelm Ludwig Johannsen Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about gene at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
Origin
From German Gen, from Ancient Greek γενεά (geneá, “generation, descent”), from the aorist infinitive of γίγνομαι (gígnomai, “to come into being”). Coined by Danish botanist Wilhelm Ludwig Johannsen in 1909, in a German-language publication, from the last syllable of pangene.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)