Cloning

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈkloʊnɪŋ/

Definitions

1. The practice of producing genetically identical copies of organisms or cells from a singular parent source
2. A scientific technique for generating exact replicas of living organisms or their genetic material for study or application
3. The process of making exact genetic duplicates of biological entities such as cells or organisms

Etymology: Herbalists and botanists of the early twentieth century needed a precise word for a plant grown from a cutting of another, and in 1903 the American botanist Herbert J. Webber coined "clone" for exactly this purpose. He took it from the Ancient Greek "klōn", meaning "twig", the same image that lies behind a gardener's cutting or slip. For its first seventy years the word stayed in the plant world, where a clone was simply a population of identical plants descended from one original. Its figurative sense, a genetically identical copy of a living thing, only spread from the 1970s, when scientists began manipulating the genes of animals and people. The "-ing" ending simply turns the verb into a noun for the act of making such copies, so "cloning" names the process as much as the result.

Synonyms: replication, duplication, copying, reproduction, mimicking

Antonyms: originality, uniqueness, individuality, singularity, exceptionality