From Greek 'genetikós' (pertaining to origin) — originally about origins generally, narrowed to heredity after modern genetics emerged.
Relating to genes or heredity; relating to or determined by the origin, development, or causal antecedents of something.
Coined in the early 19th century from Greek 'genetikós' (γενετικός, 'pertaining to origin'), from 'génesis' (γένεσις, 'origin, creation'), from 'gígnomai' (γίγνομαι, 'to be born, to come into being'), ultimately from PIE *ǵenh₁- (to beget, to give birth). The word existed in English first meaning 'pertaining to origins' before its narrower biological sense emerged after William Bateson coined 'genetics' in 1905 and the rediscovery of Mendel's work. Key roots: *ǵenh₁- (Proto-Indo-European: "to beget, to give birth
The word 'genetic' predates the concept of the gene by 75 years. When it first appeared in English around 1831, it meant 'pertaining to origins' — essentially a synonym for 'developmental.' The word 'gene' was not coined until 1909, by the Danish botanist Wilhelm Johannsen, who shortened Hugo de Vries's 'pangene' (itself from Darwin's 'pangenesis'). So 'genetic' is the parent, and 'gene' is the offspring — a fitting irony for a word about heredity.