genetic

Where does the word "genetic" come from? It comes from Greek génesis, and was adopted directly into English (1905).

Genetic’s story begins in Greek: génesis meant “origin.” 'origin, birth'; the Greek Old Testament gave the name Genesis to the first book of the Bible. It reached English by 1905 as genetic, genetics. 'genetic' (1830s) first meant 'relating to origins'; William Bateson proposed 'genetics' for the study of heredity in a letter of April 1905 to Adam Sedgwick, reviving Gregor Mendel's forgotten pea experiments. Today, genetic means relating to genes or heredity.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient génesis "origin", 'origin, birth'; the Greek Old Testament gave the name Genesis to the first book of the Bible.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1905 genetic, genetics "science of heredity", 'genetic' (1830s) first meant 'relating to origins'; William Bateson proposed 'genetics' for the study of heredity in a letter of April 1905 to Adam Sedgwick, reviving Gregor Mendel's forgotten pea experiments.