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The stadium isn’t old enough to feel outdated but is old enough to have acquired character.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

There is experimental evidence that this is the case; but that is not the inheritance of an acquired character.

From Applied Eugenics by Popenoe, Paul

The slight increase brought about by any single individual would be inherited and transmitted to the giraffes of the next generation; in other words, an individually acquired character would be inherited.

From The Doctrine of Evolution Its Basis and Its Scope by Crampton, Henry Edward

The theory, as formulated by Weismann, is that the distinction is not only great but absolute, or, in other words, that in no case and in no degree can any acquired character be ever inherited.

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