Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The production of diverse effects, especially the production by a single gene of several distinct and seemingly unrelated phenotypic effects.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun genetics The influence of a single gene on multiple phenotypic traits; pleiotropism
  • noun pharmacology The existence of drug effects other than the one for which the drug was designed; usually implies additional beneficial effects.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Greek pleiōn, more; see pelə- in Indo-European roots + –tropism.]

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