Oligonucleotide

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A short polymer made up of nucleotide units that is utilized in laboratory techniques such as genetic testing and DNA sequencing
2. A molecular fragment consisting of a few nucleotide units, essential for various biotechnological applications, including genetic analysis and PCR amplification
3. A molecule composed of a limited sequence of nucleotides used in methods like DNA analysis and molecular biology experiments

Etymology: The word is built from two Greek-derived pieces. "Oligo-" comes from the ancient Greek "oligos", meaning "few" or "little", which English uses as a prefix for something small in number or amount. The rest of the word is "nucleotide", a term for the building blocks of nucleic acids, which combines "nucleo-" with a chemical suffix. So an oligonucleotide is literally a "few-nucleotide" chain: a short strand of nucleotides, as opposed to the vast chains that make up a full genome. The "nucleo-" element traces back through Latin "nucleus", a diminutive of "nux", meaning "nut" or "kernel". The idea of a central core, a kernel within something larger, was later applied to the core of the cell and then to the nucleic acids found there. The suffix "-ide" is a chemical ending from French, and it was attached to "nucleo-" to name the nucleotide compounds.