sex-linkage

American

[seks-ling-kij] / ˈsɛksˌlɪŋ kɪdʒ /

noun

Genetics.

an association between genes in sex chromosomes such that the characteristics determined by these genes appear more frequently in one sex than in the other.

sex linkage British

noun

genetics the condition in which a particular gene is located on a sex chromosome, esp on the X-chromosome, so that the character controlled by the gene is associated with either of the sexes

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

sex linkage Scientific

The condition in which a gene responsible for a trait is located on a sex chromosome, resulting in sexually dependent inheritance of the trait.

Other Word Forms

sexlinked adjective

Etymology

Origin of sex-linkage

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Because the X and Y chromosomes determine sex, the genes located on them show a pattern of inheritance called sex-linkage.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2018

It is not surprising that the average cattleman should never have heard of sex-linkage, crossing over, multiple allelomorphism, or know that inheritance is a complex mechanism controlled by genes, invisible unit carriers of hereditary characters.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023