gene

< /ˈkɜr ən, ˈkʌr-/, Gene, 1912–96, U.S. dancer, choreographer, actor, and director.

George (Edward),1887–1974, U.S. playwright and actor.

Grace PatriciaPrincess Grace of Monaco, 1929–82, U.S. actress: married Prince Rainier III of Monaco 1956.

Walt,1913–73, U.S. cartoonist.

Also Kel·lie. a male or female given name.

noun

1. James JosephGene, 1898–1978, U.S. boxer: world heavyweight champion 1926–28.

noun

1. a unit of heredity composed of DNA occupying a fixed position on a chromosome (some viral genes are composed of RNA). A gene may determine a characteristic of an individual by specifying a polypeptide chain that forms a protein or part of a protein (structural gene); or encode an RNA molecule; or regulate the operation of other genes or repress such operationSee also operon

noun

1. Gene, full name Eugene Curran Kelly. 1912–96, US dancer, choreographer, film actor, and director. His many films include An American in Paris (1951) and Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
2. Grace. 1929–82, US film actress. Her films included High Noon (1952) and High Society (1956). She married Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956 and died following a car crash
3. Ned. 1855–80, Australian horse and cattle thief and bushranger, active in Victoria: captured by the police and hanged
4. game as Ned Kelly or as game as Ned Kelly See game 1 (def. 25)

noun

1. Gene, original name James Joseph Tunney . 1897–1978, US boxer; world heavyweight champion (1926–28)

suffix forming nouns

1. producing or that which produceshydrogen
2. something producedcarcinogen

n.

1911, from German Gen, coined 1905 by Danish scientist Wilhelm Ludvig Johannsen (1857-1927), from Greek genea “generation, race” (see genus). De Vries had earlier called them pangenes. Gene pool is attested from 1950.

common Irish surname, from Old Irish ceallach “war.” As a type of pool played with 15 balls, it is attested from 1898. Kelly green first recorded 1917.

word-forming element technically meaning “something produced,” but mainly, in modern use, “thing that produces or causes,” from French -gène (18c.), from Greek -genes “born of, produced by,” related to genos “birth” (see genus). Originally in late 18th century chemistry and probably reflecting misunderstanding of -genes, as though it meant “that which produces.”

n.

1. A hereditary unit that occupies a specific location on a chromosome, determines a particular characteristic in an organism by directing the formation of a specific protein, and is capable of replicating itself at each cell division.

suff.

1. Producer:androgen.
2. One that is produced:phosgene.

1. A segment of DNA, occupying a specific place on a chromosome, that is the basic unit of heredity. Genes act by directing the production of RNA, which determines the synthesis of proteins that make up living matter and are the catalysts of all cellular processes. The proteins that are determined by genetic DNA result in specific physical traits, such as the shape of a plant leaf, the coloration of an animal’s coat, or the texture of a person’s hair. Different forms of genes, called alleles, determine how these traits are expressed in a given individual. Humans are thought to have 20,000 to 25,000 genes; bacteria have between 500 and 6,000. See also dominant recessive. See Note at Mendel.

A portion of a DNA molecule that serves as the basic unit of heredity. Genes control the characteristics that an offspring will have by transmitting information in the sequence of nucleotides on short sections of DNA.