pleiotropy

[plahy-o-truh-pee]

noun Genetics.

the phenomenon of one gene being responsible for or affecting more than one phenotypic characteristic.

Origin of pleiotropy

First recorded in 1935–40; pleio- + -tropy

Related formsplei·o·trop·ic

[plahy-uh-trop-ik, -troh-pik] /ˌplaɪ əˈtrɒp ɪk, -ˈtroʊ pɪk/, adjectiveplei·o·trop·i·cal·ly, adverb

Word Origin and History for pleiotropy

1921, from German pleiotrop (1910), from Greek pleion "greater in quantity, the more part, very many," (see pleio-) + trope "turn, turning" (see trope). Related: Pleiotropic; pleiotropism.