Where does “gene” come from?
gene (Middle Dutch) comes from Old Dutch gēn, from Proto-West Germanic *jain, from Proto-Germanic jainaz, from Proto-Indo-European i- — that; he; a pronomial stem.
gene (Middle Dutch): that over there, yonder
Ancestry of “gene”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Dutch | gēn | — |
| 2 | Proto-West Germanic | *jain | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | jainaz | that over there, yon |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | i- | that; he; a pronomial stem |