RETURN TO GENETl 



DMSION OF GF 



[Reprinted from SCIENCE, N. S., Vol. XXXV., No. 

 908, Page 819, Mag $4, 1912} 



"GENES" OR "GENS"? 



AFTER discussing the significance of the 

 word "phenotype" in SCIENCE for April 26, 

 Dr. O. F. Cook states that 



Pluralizing the word ' ' gen ' ' is another diffi- 

 culty encountered by geneticists. Johannsen used 

 the term mostly in its German plural form, Gene. 

 Our writers have added another letter making a 

 double plural, "genes," something like "mem- 

 orandas." 



This statement does not correctly represent 

 the origin of the English word "gene" and 

 its plural " genes," now generally used by 

 writers of English papers on genetics. In 

 Darwin's word "pangen" English usage 

 renders the last syllable short, though the 

 two halves of the word contribute equally to 

 its meaning. When the word is transferred 

 to the German, as has been freely done, 

 a law of the German language makes both 

 syllables long. On this account the German 

 word "Pangen" better expresses the mean- 

 ing involved than does the English word 

 " pangen." Johannsen's word " Gen" like 

 the last syllable of the German word 

 "Pangen" from which it was directly de- 

 rived, is long in quantity. On transferring this 

 happily chosen word to English it was desired 

 to maintain the long quantity of the German 

 word, and the addition of a final e, following 

 a general law of English philology, was made 

 simply for this purpose. The English word 

 " gene " (pronounced gen) is thus seen to 

 bear no direct genetic relation to the German 

 plural " Gene" and their likeness in spelling 

 is purely a coincidence. The word " genes " 

 is consequently not a double plural and not 

 at all like " memorandas." 



There is a further reason why the word 



