Genome
/ˈdʒiː.noʊm/noun
The complete set of genetic material in an organism or cell.
Did you know?The word genome was coined in German in 1920 by botanist Hans Winkler as a blend of gene and chromosome, turning the idea of heredity into a single linguistic package.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ǵenh₁-
“To beget, produce, or give birth”
Ancient Greek
Greek
génos
“Race, kind, family, or stock”
Classical Latin
Latin
genus
“Kind, class, race, or family”
1909
German
Gen
“Gene; the hereditary unit, coined from Greek-rooted terminology”
1920
German
Genom
“The complete hereditary constitution, coined by Hans Winkler from Gen plus chromosome”
20th Century
English
genome
“The complete genetic material of an organism”