Genomic

How to spell genomic

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce genomic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does genomic mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to a genome, the complete set of genetic material in a cell or organism.

Genomic in a sentence

• The hospital now offers genomic testing to guide cancer treatment.

• Researchers compared the genomic data from thousands of patients.

Where does genomic come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word is built on 'genome', a term coined in 1920 by the German botanist Hans Winkler, who blended 'gene' with the ending of 'chromosome' to name an organism's complete set of hereditary material. The 'gene' part traces back to the Greek 'genos', meaning 'birth', 'race', or 'kind', the same root that sits inside 'generate' and 'genetics'. German 'Genom' passed quickly into English as 'genome', and the adjective 'genomic' was formed by adding the everyday English suffix '-ic', meaning 'relating to'. The word stayed rare until the late twentieth century, then surged into common use as large-scale DNA sequencing projects made genome science front-page news. A useful spelling cue is that 'genomic' keeps the single 'm' of 'genome' rather than doubling it, and the silent final 'e' of 'genome' simply drops away before the suffix.

How the word is built

• genom(e) (the complete set of genetic material)
• -ic (adjective suffix: relating to)