Clone

How to spell clone

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce clone

What does clone mean?

1. nounAn organism, cell, or thing that is an exact genetic or functional copy of another.
2. verbTo produce an exact genetic or functional copy of something.

Clone in a sentence

• noun

  The laptop is essentially a cheaper clone of the original model.

• verb

  Researchers learned how to clone a plant from a single leaf.

• noun

  Scientists raised the sheep from a single clone of an adult cell.

• verb

  Developers can clone the repository before making any changes.

Where does clone come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word comes from the Greek klon, which literally meant a twig, shoot, or slip taken from a plant for grafting or propagation. Because such a cutting grows into a plant genetically identical to its parent, the term was perfectly suited to biology. The American plant physiologist Herbert Webber proposed it around 1903 (originally spelled 'clon') to describe a group of organisms produced asexually from a single ancestor. The final silent 'e' was added soon after to discourage a short vowel and signal the long 'o' sound. From its botanical roots the meaning spread in the twentieth century to animal genetics, and later, in everyday and computing use, to anything that is an exact copy of something else.

How the word is built

• clon- (from Greek klon: a twig or slip used for grafting)
• -e (English spelling)