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pleiotropy

[plahy-o-truh-pee]
noun Genetics.
  1. the phenomenon of one gene being responsible for or affecting more than one phenotypic characteristic.
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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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Word Origin and History for pleiotropy

n.

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper