Endogene

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A monocotyledonous plant whose embryo has a single seed leaf ; originating or developing from within an organism or system
2. A flowering plant of the monocot group with a single seed leaf ; arising or growing from an internal source rather than outside
3. A plant belonging to the monocotyledons, whose stem grows from within ; describing something that develops from internal causes

Etymology: "Endogene" is built from two parts: the Greek prefix "endo-", meaning "within" or "inside," and "gene," the unit of heredity. Put together, the word describes something that originates from within, or in geology and biology, something produced or arising from internal causes rather than external ones. The gene part is the younger of the two. "Gene" was coined in 1909 by the Danish botanist Wilhelm Johannsen, who shortened the older term "pangene" from Hugo de Vries, so "endogene" depends on a concept that is barely a century old. The "endo-" prefix, by contrast, has been used in scientific Greek-derived vocabulary for much longer, and it appears in many technical coinages where something is described as arising inside a system.