acquired character

American  

noun

Genetics.

1. a noninheritable character that results from certain environmental influences.

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Etymology

Origin of acquired character

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

The stadium isn’t old enough to feel outdated but is old enough to have acquired character.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 7, 2024

Deneuve, the darling of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg 32 years ago, has aged gracefully; her face has acquired character, a kind of pinched authority.

From Time Magazine Archive

Or, more precisely, it was supposed that an acquired character, in virtue of such a summation of hereditary influence, would in time become congenital.

From Darwin, and After Darwin, Volume 2 Post-Darwinian Questions: Heredity and Utility by Romanes, George John

Such a wide variation from the mean thus caused is called an acquired character; it is usually impressed on the organism after the germinal trait has reached a full, typical development.

From Applied Eugenics by Popenoe, Paul

An acquired character is simply a modification, due to some cause external to the germ-plasm acting on an inborn character.

From Applied Eugenics by Popenoe, Paul