Oligonucleotides

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Short sequences of nucleotides that are typically used in genetic research and biotechnology applications
2. Chains of nucleotides consisting of a limited number of bases, often utilized in DNA and RNA synthesis
3. Molecules made up of a few nucleotides, frequently employed in the study of genes and molecular biology techniques

Etymology: This is an inflected form, the plural of "oligonucleotide," so the real story belongs to that base word. It combines "oligo-," from Ancient Greek "oligos" meaning "few" or "little," with "nucleotide," a building block of DNA and RNA built on the Latin "nucleus," meaning "kernel" or "little nut." The Latin root goes back to "nux," "nut," and its diminutive form "nucleus" originally described the kernel inside a nut, which later gave scientists a term for the central core of a cell and, through "nucleo-," the nucleotide family. Put together, the compound names a short chain of nucleotides, a few units rather than the long strands that make up a full genetic molecule. The plural simply counts several such chains.