Polynucleotide

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A chain of nucleotide units bound by covalent linkages represents the fundamental structure of genetic material
2. A continuous sequence of nucleotides connected by phosphodiester linkages serves as the backbone of nucleic acids
3. A molecular structure consisting of multiple nucleotide units linked together forms the basic framework for DNA and RNA

Etymology: Polynucleotide is a modern scientific coinage, assembled from two Greek and Latin building blocks rather than inherited from any ancient vocabulary. Its first part, "poly-", comes from the Ancient Greek "polús", meaning "many", a root that also gives English words like polygon and polyphony. The second part, "nucleotide", is itself a compound built on "nucleus", the Latin word for a kernel or nut, which entered English as a scientific term for the central part of a cell. Chemists added the "-ide" ending, a suffix used to name chemical compounds, to form "nucleotide", the name for the basic unit of nucleic acids. Joining "poly-" to "nucleotide" produces a word meaning a chain of many such units. The chain is the structure that forms the backbone of DNA and RNA, so the name describes the molecule quite literally: many nucleotides bonded into one long strand.