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allele. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
allele, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
allele in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
allele you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
Borrowed from German Allel, shortened from Allelomorph, from English allelomorph. Ultimately from the Ancient Greek prefix ἀλληλ- (allēl-) from ἄλλος (állos, “other”).
Pronunciation
Noun
allele (plural alleles)
- (genetics) One of a number of alternative forms of the same gene occupying a given position, or locus, on a chromosome.
- Synonym: allelomorph
1976, Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, Kindle edition, OUP Oxford, published 2016, page 46:Genes are competing directly with their alleles for survival, since their alleles in the gene pool are rivals for their slot on the chromosomes of future generations. Any gene that behaves in such a way as to increase its own survival chances in the gene pool at the expense of its alleles will, by definition, tautologously, tend to survive.
2013 May-June, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, “Wild Plants to the Rescue”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:Plant breeding is always a numbers game. […] The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, and individual plants are highly heterozygous and do not breed true. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
German
Pronunciation
Adjective
allele
- inflection of allel:
- strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
- strong nominative/accusative plural
- weak nominative all-gender singular
- weak accusative feminine/neuter singular
Italian
Alternative forms
Etymology
Clipping of allelomorfo, compare English allele.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /alˈlɛ.le/
- Rhymes: -ɛle
- Hyphenation: al‧lè‧le
Noun
allele m (plural alleli)
- (genetics) allele
- Synonym: allelomorfo
Related terms
Further reading
- allele in Collins Italian-English Dictionary
- allele in Aldo Gabrielli, Grandi Dizionario Italiano (Hoepli)
- allele in garzantilinguistica.it – Garzanti Linguistica, De Agostini Scuola Spa
- allèle in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication
- allèle in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana