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Where does the word "genome" come from? It comes from Greek genos, passing through German before entering English (1920s).
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Where does the word "genome" come from? It comes from Greek genos, passing through German before entering English (1920s).
Genome’s story begins in Greek: genos meant “birth, kind.” Birth, race, kind. By 1920, the word had taken hold in German as Genom. The botanist Hans Winkler blended 'Gen', gene, and 'Chromosom'. It reached English by 1920s as genome. The Human Genome Project sequenced the human genome between 1990 and 2003. Today, genome means the complete set of genes in an organism.
- Stage 1 · Greek · ancient genos "birth, kind", birth, race, kind.
- Stage 2 · German · 1920 Genom "genome", the botanist Hans Winkler blended 'Gen', gene, and 'Chromosom'.
- Stage 3 · English · 1920s genome "full set of genes", the Human Genome Project sequenced the human genome between 1990 and 2003.