| 释义 |
genetic, a. and n. pl.|dʒɪˈnɛtɪk|
[f. genesis, on the analogy of pairs of words like antithesis, antithetic.]
A. adj.
1. a. Pertaining to, or having reference to, origin.
1831Carlyle Early Germ. Lit. in Misc. Ess. (1888) III 168 Our theories and genetic Histories of Poetry should henceforth cease. 1860Marsh Eng. Lang. 281 In a historical sketch of the genetic development of the parts of speech, we should naturally begin with the Interjection. 1870Max Müller Sci. Relig. (1873) 143 The only scientific and truly genetic classification of religions. 1878Foster Phys. iii. v. §3. 481 Regarded in a genetic aspect, the spinal cord is a series of cemented segments.
b. Biol. genetic affinity, genetic connexion, genetic relation-(ship): one that is the result of a common origin.
1859Darwin Orig. Spec. iv. (1873) 101 If this had occurred, we should meet with the same form, independently of genetic connection, recurring in widely separated geological formations. 1880Günther Fishes 373 There is no direct genetic relation between those fishes.
c. Logic. genetic definition: one which defines a thing by describing the manner of its formation.
1837–8Sir W. Hamilton Logic xxiv. (1866) II. 13 In Genetic Definitions the defined subject is considered as in the progress to be, as becoming; the notion, therefore, has to be made, and is the result of the definition, which is consequently synthetic. 1884tr. Lotze's Logic 167 ‘Let a straight line revolve in one plane about one of its extremities, and combine the successive positions of the other extremity’:—that is a genetic definition of a circle.
d. Bot. genetic spiral (see quot.).
1875Bennett & Dyer Sachs' Bot. 169 A line is imagined proceeding..in such a direction that, traversing the axis.. it includes the points of insertion of all the successive lateral members according to their age; the horizontal projection of this line is called the Genetic Spiral; in reality it is a helix running round the stem more or less regularly.
e. genetic psychology (see quot. 19091).
1909Cent. Dict. Suppl. (s.v. psychology), Genetic psychology, that division of psychology which deals with the development of mind in the individual and with its evolution in the race. 1909W. M. Urban Valuation iii. 72 How such presuppositions arise is..a problem of genetic psychology. 1947O. Barfield in Essays presented to C. Williams 106 What I am talking about is not poetic diction, but etymology or philosophy or even genetic psychology.
f. genetic fallacy: the fallacy of judging the value of something, or the truth of a belief, by its origin.
1934Cohen & Nagel Introd. Logic xix. 388 (heading) The genetic fallacy. 1941Mind L. 386 The ‘scientific method of interpreting Spinoza's philosophy’ must avoid both the ‘normative fallacy’ and the ‘genetic fallacy’. 1959I. G. MacCaffrey Paradise Lost as ‘Myth’ 210 Milton never committed the genetic fallacy which claims that good and evil are rendered indistinguishable when they are seen to have a common source. 1965Philos. XL. 351 To commit a Genetic Fallacy, the fallacy of supposing that an opinion is discredited when its causal origins are revealed.
g. Of or pertaining to genetics or genes; genetic code: the system by which nucleic acid molecules store genetic information, now known to operate by means of triplets of nucleotides read in sequence.
1908W. Bateson Methods & Scope Genetics 11 The conception..of the individual as composed of what we call presences and absences of all the possible ingredients..is the basis of all progress in genetic analysis. Ibid. 46 At last by genetic methods we are beginning to obtain such facts. 1936Discovery May 161/1 Recently attention has been paid to..the interaction of genes with, what may be termed, the genetic environment. 1939C. D. Darlington (title) Evolution of genetic systems. 1941J. S. Huxley Uniqueness of Man ii. 42 One and the same genetic outfit will give different effects in different environments. Ibid. 43 Our ignorance of the precise genetic constitution of human populations. 1947H. J. Muller in Proc. R. Soc. B. CXXXIV. 30 Practically every mutation, even a ‘small’ and non-lethal one, with the rarest of exceptions, requires finally a genetic death, that is, a failure to live or to breed, somewhere along the line of its descent, if the population would remain genetically at par. For each mutation, then, a genetic death. 1959New Biol. XXVIII. 23 Diverse non-adaptive evolutionary changes as may be brought about in small isolated populations by the phenomenon of ‘genetic drift’. 1961S. A. Sand in Amer. Naturalist XCV. 242 Our concept of a genetic system storing information should not be restricted to the denotation of ‘gene’ or to limited aspects of DNA structure... We would then recognize more than one type of genetic code and several classes of genetic change. 1962Nature 31 Mar. 1268/1 The correspondence between groups of nucleotides and amino-acids has come to be known as the ‘genetic code’. 1963Times 12 Jan. 8/1 New experiments have suggested that viruses may, in effect, be genes or ‘genetic messengers’, the report says. 1969Times 6 Jan. 10/7 If man is indeed carrying a large number of such inactive or ‘nonsense’ genes, the implication is that he is using only a small fraction of the genetic information that his D.N.A. is capable of storing. 1969New Scientist 28 Aug. 415/2 The day may be approaching when genetic engineering may make it possible to make a plant to order. 1970Guardian 8 May 3/7 Most couples who seek genetic counselling come after they have had one or more defective children. 1971Ibid. 8 Oct. 13/1 Human genetic engineering aimed at the elimination of genetic diseases.
¶2. Sometimes misused for: Generative, productive (= Gr. γεννητικός).
1838Blackw. Mag. XLIV. 242 It points to a genetic or creative power. 1865Lowell Thoreau Pr. Wks. 1890 I. 366 Above all, there is the standard of genetic power, the test of the masculine as distinguished from the receptive minds. 1884Expositor Dec. 464 This view of faith..assigns to it a genetic energy adequate to the production of the rich and manifold results of the Christian life.
B. n. pl.
a. The principles or laws of origination.
1872F. Hall Recent Exempl. False Philol. 101 Nor are his notions of verbal genetics at all less superficial than his acquaintance with practical precedents.
b. That branch of biology which is concerned with the study of natural development when not complicated by human interference.
1897L. F. Ward Outl. Sociol. 180 But there is a shorter adjective form telic, which is preferable to teleological and possesses the advantage of being converted into the name of a science, telics, as proposed by Dr. Small. These two words may be conveniently set over against genetic and genetics.
c. The scientific study of heredity and variation.
1905W. Bateson Let. 18 Apr. in B. Bateson W. Bateson (1928) 93 The best title would, I think, be ‘The Quick Professorship of the study of Heredity’. No single word in common use quite gives this meaning.., and if it were desirable to coin one, ‘Genetics’ might do. 1906― in Nature 14 June 146/1 May it be suggested that the branch of science should now receive a distinctive name? The physiology of heredity and variation is a definite branch of science... To avoid further periphrasis, then, let us say genetics. 1907Daily Chron. 23 Feb. 9/3 The..International Conference on Genetics. 1908W. Bateson Methods & Scope Genetics Pref., The physiology of Heredity and Variation, a study now spoken of as Genetics. 1930R. A. Fisher Genet. Theory Nat. Selection p. viii, That an independent study of natural selection is now possible is principally due to the great advance which our generation has seen in the science of genetics. 1949Darlington & Mather Elem. Genetics 15 These inborn causes..have to be defined as materials or processes whose behaviour and effects we can predict and control. This is the aim and scope of genetics. 1965Peacocke & Drysdale Molec. Basis of Heredity i. 3 The development of modern genetics dates only from the rediscovery of Mendel's paper in 1900.
Add:[A.] [1.] [g.] genetic counselling, counselling of potential parents as regards the possible transmission of genetic abnormalities to their children.
1955S. C. Reed Counseling in Med. Genetics 226 By means of *genetic counseling, he can assist them to approach the quality of children they desire. 1988F. Weldon Leader of Band vi.39 Separated from her husband, pregnant with twins and in genetic counselling.
genetic counsellor, a person who offers genetic counselling.
1956Today's Health June 41/2 This aid..can be given by individual *genetic counselors. 1965McCall's Mag. May 64/1 Genetic counselors are a small but growing group of ‘heredity doctors’.
genetic fingerprint, any set of genetic characteristics derived from an individual's tissues or secretions, esp. when used for identification in a similar way to conventional fingerprints; cf. genetic profile below.
1969E. M. Berkman et al. in Blood XXXIV. 842 (heading) The *genetic fingerprint of human blood types. 1983Economist 23 Apr. 104/1 The day that people will be able to trot down to the local clinic and get an individual genetic fingerprint..is a long way away. 1989Observer 26 Feb. 2/1 The genetic fingerprint tests..reveal that immigration officers were wrong to deny entry in nine out of 10 cases.
genetic fingerprinting, the obtaining or comparing of genetic fingerprints for identification; spec. the comparison of DNA in a person's blood with that identified in matter found at the scene of a crime, etc.
1984N.Y. Times 16 Sept. i. 36/1 The recent Federal study that linked illnesses to tainted hamburger used new techniques of *genetic ‘fingerprinting’ [etc.]. 1987Financial Times 14 Nov. i. 1/1 It was the first conviction in the world following a ‘genetic fingerprinting’ DNA test, relating blood samples to semen stains near his victim.
genetic profile, a description of an individual which lists his or her significant genetic characteristics for purposes of establishing identity, relatedness, the likelihood of transmitting certain inherited disorders in children, etc.
[1969Blood XXXIV. 842 Data..reveal all tested individuals to possess their own unique and genetically determined profile because both quantitative and qualitative differences are apparent.] 1976Smithsonian July 88/1 Each of us might then be given a *genetic profile, listing our particular strengths and susceptibilities. 1990Boston Globe 12 Nov. 34/2 Life and health insurance companies and employers will inevitably demand access to each person's genetic profile, much as they now claim the right to medical records.
genetic profiling, the preparation of genetic profiles.
1986Los Angeles Times (San Diego County ed.) 8 Oct. v. 8/4 Other physicians who will speak include..Oliver W. Jones on *genetic profiling for today's woman. 1989Daily Tel. 1 June 3/2 Genetic ‘profiling’ is introduced by the Home Office today to settle disputed paternity cases.
▸ genetic drift n. change in gene frequencies; esp. random fluctuation in gene frequencies in a small breeding population.
[1940H. J. Muller in J. Huxley New Systematics 216 It will, in the process of accidental multiplication and decline of mutant genes,..termed ‘drift’ by Wright, accumulate a divergent set of recessive detrimental mutant genes.] 1945Ann. Missouri Bot. Garden 32 414 The phenomenon of ‘*genetic drift’ will come into play. 1959W. Miller Canticle for Leibowitz (1961) xxvii. 247 Each racial group was so small that unless their descendants intermarried, each would undergo deteriorative genetic drift due to inbreeding on the colony planet. 2000Sciences May–June 12/2 In large populations genetic drift can lead to fluctuations in the frequency of certain alleles, though the law of large numbers makes it highly unlikely that the genetic variations..will disappear completely.
▸ genetic imprinting n. = genomic imprinting n. at genomic adj. Special uses.
1985Basic Life Sci. 36 363 These findings help to explain why diploid embryos with 2 male or 2 female pronuclei fail to come to term and may be connected with *genetic imprinting of gametes. 1992Economist 24 Oct. 124/3 Mice have also been exploited to study the strange phenomenon of genetic imprinting, where the activity of a gene depends on which parent it is inherited from. 1999U.S. News & World Rep. 24 May 65/1 One possible culprit is genetic imprinting, a poorly understood process in which maternal and paternal genes ensure that neither predominates in the offspring.
▸ genetic modification n. alteration of genes, esp. by selective breeding or (in later use) genetic engineering; an instance of this.
1923Amer. Jrnl. Bot. 10 230 It is in them that the variants of *genetic modification and many times of geographic distribution are displayed. 1930R. A. Fisher Genetical Theory Nat. Selection 131 The investigation of the influence of the sex hormones has shown how genetic modifications of the whole species can be made to manifest themselves in one sex only. 1998BBC Good Food Sept. 62/2 Scientists can now identify the specific gene that governs a desired trait in a plant. They can then extract the gene, copy it and insert the copy into a different type of plant... This process is known as genetic modification (GM) or modern biotechnology.
▸ genetic pollution n. the introduction of undesirable genes into a gene pool, esp. from a foreign species or genetically modified organism.
1969Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) 19 Nov. 21/6 William T. Keeton..will open the symposium with a discussion of ‘Population Control, *Genetic Pollution and Engineering’. 1983Washington Post 30 Apr. a23/5 The board says the practice [sc. releasing tigers bred in captivity into the wild]..threatens the ‘purity’ of the Indian species of tigers by ‘genetic pollution’. 1999J. Elkington & J. Hailes New Foods Guide ii. 19 There could be problems for the environment with what some call ‘genetic pollution’. This happens when modified genes are transferred from GMOs into wild species—or from GM crops into organic crops.
▸ genetic screening n. testing of an individual or population for genetic defects or for genes associated with disease susceptibility, drug metabolism, etc.; an instance of this.
1966Washington Post 22 Apr. a3/3 Improvement of a *genetic screening test that permits identification of women who..are carriers of the most prevalent form of muscular dystrophy. 1990Independent 28 May 3/1 The study will determine people's attitudes to genetic screening and help researchers to develop a counselling strategy. 2004Daily Tel. 23 June 10/2 At each level, a care plan is proposed, ranging from support at the GP's surgery to annual mammography, full genetic screening, the offer of preventive breast removal and counselling. |