genoma

genome

noun jeh-NOH-mah Rare

Origin: From Greek genos (race, kind) + -oma suffix; coined in the 20th century.

Usage Note

Genoma follows the pattern of Greek-derived nouns ending in -ma that are masculine in Italian despite the -a ending — like problema and tema: il genoma umano. The plural is i genomi. In everyday Italian it appears almost exclusively in scientific or medical contexts.

Examples

"Il genoma umano contiene miliardi di basi."

Natural Translation

The human genome contains billions of bases.

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