allele

Etymology

Borrowed from German Allel, shortened from Allelomorph, from English allelomorph. Ultimately from the Ancient Greek prefix ἀλληλ- (allēl-) from ἄλλος (állos, “other”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈæ.liː.l/
• (US) IPA^(key): /əˈ.liː.l/
• Rhymes: -iːl

Noun

allele (plural alleles)

1. (genetics) One of a number of alternative forms of the same gene occupying a given position, or locus, on a chromosome.
   • 2013 May-June, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, “Wild Plants to the Rescue”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:

     Plant breeding is always a numbers game. […] The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, and individual plants are highly heterozygous and do not breed true. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better.

Adjective

allele

1. inflected form of allel

Noun

allele m (plural alleli)

1. (genetics) allele