clonal
|clo-nal|
🇺🇸
/ˈkloʊnəl/
🇬🇧
/ˈkləʊnəl/
from a single ancestor; genetically identical
Etymology
'clonal' originates from English, formed from the noun 'clone' plus the adjective-forming suffix '-al'. 'clone' ultimately comes from Greek 'klon' (κλών) meaning 'twig' or 'branch'.
'clonal' developed from the modern English noun 'clone' (coined in the 20th century in biology) by adding the suffix '-al' to create an adjective meaning 'of or relating to a clone'. The noun 'clone' itself was derived from Greek 'klon' via scientific Latin/Neo‑Greek usage.
Initially the Greek root meant 'twig' or 'branch', but in modern scientific English 'clone' came to mean an organism or cell line derived from a single ancestor; 'clonal' therefore evolved to mean 'relating to such clones' or 'originating from a single genetic source'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
relating to or characteristic of a clone or clones; composed of or derived from genetically identical cells or organisms coming from a single progenitor.
The tumor showed a clonal population of cells carrying the same mutation.
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Adjective 2
used in genetics or immunology to describe cells, antibodies, or receptors that originate from a single ancestral cell or that represent a single genetic lineage.
Researchers identified a clonal expansion of B cells after vaccination.
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Last updated: 2025/09/28 19:45