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Origin and history of clone

clone(n.)

1903, in botany, "group of cultivated plants each of which is a transplanted part of one original," from Latinized form of Greek klōn "a twig, spray," related to klados "sprout, young branch, offshoot of a plant," possibly from PIE root *kel- (1) "to strike, cut" (see holt). Meaning "person or animal replicated from a single cell of another and genetically identical to it" is by 1970 (theoretical). Figurative use, "one who slavishly imitates another," is by 1978.

clone(v.)

1959, from clone (n.). Extension to genetic duplication of animals and human beings is from 1970. Related: Cloned; cloning.

also from 1959

Entries linking to clone

holt(n.)

Old English holt "woods, forest, grove, thicket," common in place names, from Proto-Germanic *hultam- (source also of Old Frisian, Old Norse, Middle Dutch holt, Dutch hout, German Holz "a wood, wood as timber"), from PIE *kldo- (source also of Old Church Slavonic klada "beam, timber;" Russian koloda, Lithuanian kalada "block of wood, log;" Greek klados "twig;" Old Irish caill "wood"), from root *kel- "to strike, cut."

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    Trends of clone

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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    knockoff
    also knock-off, "cheap imitation," 1966, from the verbal phrase knock off "do hastily" (1817), in reference to the casual way the things are made. The verbal phrase knock off is attested from 1640s as "desist, stop" (work, study, etc.), hence knockoff (n.) "act of leaving work" (
    ringer
     "bell-ringer, one employed to ring church or processional bells," early 15c. (c. 1200 as a surname), agent noun from ring (v.1). An early 13c. text has belle ringestre "nun who rings the convent bell." In quoits (and by extension, horseshoes), "a throw cast so as to encircl
    double
    c. 1300, "twice as much or as large," also "repeated, occurring twice," also "of extra weight, thickness, size, or strength; of two layers," from Old French doble (10c.) "double, two-fold; two-faced, deceitful," from Latin duplus "twofold, twice as much," from duo "two" (from PIE
    copy
    mid-14c., "written account or record," from Old French copie (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin copia "reproduction, transcript," from Latin copia "an abundance, ample supply, profusion, plenty," from assimilated form of com "with" (see com-) + ops (genitive opis) "power, we
    begin
    Old English beginnan "to attempt, undertake," a rare word beside the more usual form onginnan (class III strong verb; past tense ongann, past participle ongunnen); from be- + West Germanic *ginnan, which is of obscure etymology and found only in compounds, perhaps "to open, open
    binge
    1854, "drinking bout," also (v.) "drink heavily, soak up alcohol;" dialectal use of binge "soak" (a wooden vessel). Said to have been originally as a dialect word. Binge is noted in Evans' "Leicestershire Words, Phrases and Proverbs" (London, 1848) as a dialect verb for "To soak
    image
    c. 1200, "piece of statuary; artificial representation that looks like a person or thing," from Old French image "image, likeness; figure, drawing, portrait; reflection; statue," earlier imagene (11c.), from Latin imaginem (nominative imago) "copy, imitation, likeness; statue, pi
    milk
    "opaque white fluid secreted by mammary glands of female mammals, suited to the nourishment of their young," Middle English milk, from Old English meoluc (West Saxon), milc (Anglian), from Proto-Germanic *meluk- "milk" (source also of Old Norse mjolk, Old Frisian melok, Old Saxon
    gun
    mid-14c., gunne "an engine of war that throws rocks, arrows or other missiles from a tube by the force of explosive powder or other substance," apparently a shortening of woman's name Gunilda, found in Middle English gonnilde "cannon" and in an Anglo-Latin reference to a specific
    sepulchre
    also sepulcher, c. 1200, sepulcre, "tomb, burial place," especially the cave where Jesus was buried outside Jerusalem (Holy Sepulcher or Saint Sepulcher), from Old French sepulcre, sepulchre, "tomb; the Holy Sepulchre" (11c.), from Latin sepulcrum (also, erroneously, sepulchrum)

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