epistasis

Meanings

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

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.