Where does “heterozygous” come from?
Heterozygous derives from the English suffix -zygous, combining Ancient Greek ζυγόν meaning yoke with the English adjectival suffix -ous, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European yugóm.
heterozygous (English): Of an organism which has two different alleles of...
Definitions
- Of an organism which has two different alleles of...
Ancestry of “heterozygous”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | -zygous | Having or originating from a specified state as a... |
| 2 | English | ous | plural of ou |
| 3 | English | ou | A probably extinct species of Hawaiian... |
| 4 | Afrikaans | ou | An old fellow, guy, bloke; attributive form of... |
| 5 | Dutch | oud | old |
| 6 | Middle Dutch | out | old |
| 7 | Old Dutch | ald | — |
| 8 | Proto-West Germanic | ald | old |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | aldaz | old, grown up |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eltós | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂él- | to grow, nourish |