Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

epistasis

/ɪˈpɪstəsɪs/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.48 in modern English

Syllables
epis-ta-sis
IPA
/ɪˈpɪstəsɪs/
11
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The modification of the expression of a gene by another unrelated one.

Countable; Uncountable

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐπίστασις (epístasis, “stopping”), from ἐφίστημι (ephístēmi, “stop”), from ἐφ- (eph-) + ἵστημι (hístēmi, “make to stand”). The use in genetics was coined by English biologist William Bateson in 1909 in his book Mendel's Principles of Heredity.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: ἐπίστασις

Usage

Inflected Forms

epistases (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

epistatic hypostatic epigenetics

Synonyms

hypostasis

Questions

How do you pronounce epistasis?
The recorded pronunciation is /ɪˈpɪstəsɪs/.
What does epistasis mean?
The modification of the expression of a gene by another unrelated one.
Where does epistasis come from?
It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce epistasis

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “epistasis”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɪˈpɪstəsɪs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “epistasis”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “epistasis” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.