nucleobases
|nu-cle-o-bas-es|
C1
🇺🇸
/ˈnuːkli.oʊˌbeɪsɪz/
🇬🇧
/ˈnjuːkli.əʊˌbeɪsɪz/
(nucleobase)
building blocks of DNA/RNA
Etymology
Etymology Information
'nucleobase' originates from 'nucleus' and 'base', where 'nucleus' refers to the central part of a cell and 'base' refers to a fundamental component.
Historical Evolution
'nucleobase' was derived from the combination of 'nucleus' and 'base' in modern scientific terminology.
Meaning Changes
Initially, it referred to any base in a nucleus, but over time it evolved to specifically mean the nitrogenous bases in nucleic acids.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the nitrogen-containing biological compounds that form the building blocks of nucleic acids like DNA and RNA.
Adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine are nucleobases found in DNA.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/05/12 19:29