homeotic

alternative homœotic · alternative homoeotic

1. not comparableOf or pertaining to homeosis

   A certain segment of the body, in other words, had done something appropriate to a different segment of the body. Something had gone wrong with the homeotic genes.

   1999, Matt Ridley, Genome, Harper Perennial, published 2004, page 176

   1 more example

   Further probings revealed the existence of a clutch of master control genes, each directing the development of a section of body, which were dubbed homeotic (from a Greek word meaning ‘similar’) or hox genes.

   2003, Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, BCA, published 2003, page 365