Where does “gene” come from?
I notice the etymology chain you've provided contains only repetitions of Ancient Greek γενεά and English gene, which appears to be a data error. I cannot write an accurate etymology sentence from circular or duplicated information.
To write a proper one-sentence origin summary, I would need:
- A clear, linear chain from oldest to newest language
- The actual meanings at each stage
- Each language and form appearing only once in sequence
Could you provide the correct etymology chain for "gene"?
gene (English): A theoretical unit of heredity of living...
Definitions
- A theoretical unit of heredity of living...
Ancestry of “gene”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | German | gēn | — |
| 2 | Middle High German | gēn | — |
| 3 | Old High German | gēn | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | gān | to go |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | gāną | to go, walk |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰengʰ- | to walk; to step |
Words derived from “gene”