Where does “monosomy” come from?

monosomy (English) comes from English monosome, from English some, from Middle English som, from Old English sum, from Proto-West Germanic *sum, from Proto-Germanic sumaz, from Proto-Indo-European sem- — together, one.

monosomy (English): A genetic disorder with the presence of only one chromosome (instead of the typical two in humans) from a pair

Definitions

  1. A genetic disorder with the presence of only one chromosome (instead of the typical two in humans) from a pair

Ancestry of “monosomy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishmonosomeThe chromosome whose homologous counterpart is...
2EnglishsomeA certain number, at least two; An indefinite...
3Middle Englishsomsome
4Old Englishsumsome
5Proto-West Germanic*sumsome
6Proto-Germanicsumazsome (one), a certain (one)
7Proto-Indo-Europeansem-together, one
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sem-Every word from Proto-Germanic sumazEvery word from Proto-West Germanic *sum