# Have you heard of this word? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 13, 2025, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-this-word/1016988 "2025-04-13T10:06:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-this-word/1016988/1 "2025-04-13T10:06:26Z")
I like playing Wordle (UK English.) Recently I got 4 letters - but could not guess the 5th before I ran out of goes. I had CO\_ON. Apparently there is a word CODON … have you heard of it?! ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-this-word/1016988/2 "2025-04-13T10:11:47Z")
> [@glee](#): > > Apparently there is a word CODON … have you heard of it?! Yes, it’s a technical term in genetics. Although it’s not that obscure, many people are familiar with it. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-this-word/1016988/3 "2025-04-13T10:30:51Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Yes, it’s a technical term in genetics. Although it’s not that obscure, many people are familiar with it. Thanks for replying! Is this stuff taught in schools? Is it really well known? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-this-word/1016988/4 "2025-04-13T10:33:21Z")
> [@glee](#): > > Is this stuff taught in schools? I would expect the word comes up in HS Biology and College Intro to Biology classes. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-this-word/1016988/5 "2025-04-13T11:28:35Z")
> [@glee](#): > > Is this stuff taught in schools? I don’t know what public schools in general teach about genetics, but _in_ genetics it is a very basic, very fundamental term, as fundamental as hearing the word “brick” in a class about masonry. If a school teaches anything about genetics at all, it will probably use the word “codon”. I don’t remember what stage it came up in my public schooling in the 1980s, but I know by AP Biology genetics was discussed in detail. Since AP Bio included much more intimidating things like memorizing every stage of the Citric Acid Cycle I’m thinking basic genetics may have come in an earlier class. (In the same way early classes tell you that electrons orbit atoms but it isn’t until later classes you learn about the shapes and arrangement of orbitals.) If you are significantly older than me (born in 1972) your education may have been effected by how rapidly understanding of genetics was moving in the mid twentieth century: codons weren’t even discovered until 1961. > **[Crick, Brenner et al. experiment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crick,_Brenner_et_al._experiment)** > > The Crick, Brenner et al. experiment (1961) was a scientific experiment performed by Francis Crick, Sydney Brenner, Leslie Barnett and R.J. Watts-Tobin. > It was a key experiment in the development of what is now known as molecular biology and led to a publication entitled "The General Nature of the Genetic Code for Proteins" and according to the historian of Science Horace Judson is "regarded...as a classic of intellectual clarity, precision and rigour". This study demonstrated that the genetic In... ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-this-word/1016988/6 "2025-04-13T13:55:42Z")
I recognized the word as a word, though I couldn’t remember what it meant. Presumably I read something about genetics that used it, and either looked it up at the time or guessed from context; but then remembered having seen the word but forgot in what context I saw it. ETA: I very much doubt I’d have heard it in school in the '60’s; but I’ve certainly read a batch of (mostly layman’s level) stuff about genetics since. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-this-word/1016988/7 "2025-04-13T14:33:09Z")
I do a lot of crosswords. Seeing CO\_ON I went thru the alphabet and right away hit on CODON and thought that must be it. After all, COLON shouldn’t be new to virtually everybody. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-this-word/1016988/8 "2025-04-13T14:38:53Z")
> [@glee](#): > > Apparently there is a word CODON … have you heard of it?! If I have, I don’t remember it. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-this-word/1016988/9 "2025-04-13T14:44:22Z")
> [@glee](#): > > have you heard of it?! Yes > [@glee](#): > > Is this stuff taught in schools? yes > [@glee](#): > > Is it really well known? Perhaps some students do not pay attention in school? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-this-word/1016988/10 "2025-04-13T14:45:54Z")
I only know this word from Wordle. In my opinion, it’s too obscure for a general-population word game, but now that I have been exposed to it, I remember it (it’s been repeated a couple of times, I think). ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-this-word/1016988/11 "2025-04-13T15:22:23Z")
I’ve got a pretty decent vocab, tho not a scientist, am modestly interested in genetics, and have a daughter and SIL w/ advanced degrees in molecular biology. When I first saw the word, I had no recognition. Seeing the def, I had a vague sense of having seen it before. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-this-word/1016988/12 "2025-04-13T16:42:28Z")
I’d say no. Of course, it reminds me of similar words like coda and codex. But what it _really_ reminds me of is the Australian defense contractor Codan, who I know by way of their great two-way radios. [https://www.dtccodan.com/products/envoy](https://www.dtccodan.com/products/envoy) ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-this-word/1016988/13 "2025-04-13T16:46:57Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Perhaps some students do not pay attention in school Or perhaps some are of an age than when they were in school, paying attention, that word was not yet widely known and used in curriculums. I.e. out of high school science classes before it was used outside of high level research post-graduate levels. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-this-word/1016988/14 "2025-04-13T16:50:53Z")
I’ve seen the word in crossword puzzles. I used it in Scrabble once and got challenged. Of course I got my points. Vaguely remember the definition. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-this-word/1016988/15 "2025-04-13T17:01:14Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Perhaps some students do not pay attention in school? > [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Or perhaps some are of an age than when they were in school, paying attention, that word was not yet widely known and used in curriculums I went to school from 1958 - 1971. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-this-word/1016988/16 "2025-04-13T17:06:09Z")
Fair enough: given that high-school textbooks and curricula may take quite some time to get updated, that sort of research may not have been so well known among kids in the mid-1960s. I assume you would know. Though, I double-checked that Holley, Khorana, and Nirenberg got their Nobel Prize in 1968 which implies some publicity. Moreover, Francis Crick was already famous when he published his papers that mention the “codon”. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-this-word/1016988/17 "2025-04-13T17:18:26Z")
I’m pretty sure my high school biology was at least 20 years behind the current research. Sometimes more. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-this-word/1016988/18 "2025-04-13T17:21:46Z")
I took biology in 1989. Never heard this word. Would be surprised if it ended up as a curated Wordle answer, but here we are. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-this-word/1016988/19 "2025-04-13T17:22:48Z")
It’s certainly taught in HS biology classes now, and I’m pretty sure it was in the mid-90s when I was in school, too. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I’m pretty sure my high school biology was at least 20 years behind the current research. Sometimes more. Sometimes, but sometimes it can be pretty quick. My high school AP Bio class was doing polymerase chain reaction experiments less than a year after it was invented, and shortly after that, it won the Nobel Prize. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-this-word/1016988/20 "2025-04-13T17:32:40Z")
When trying to gauge how well known a word is to the general public I tend to check Google News. In a search just now, the fifteen ten-item pages I scanned had nothing in the popular general press. Everything was science journals and science news sites. So that doesn’t support the word being general knowledge. It surprises me a little bit that it didn’t get some mention, major publications often include a little “basic info” box alongside a news story, and DNA is in the news (and crime investigation shows) all the time. It makes me wonder what level the general public knowledge of DNA and genetics is. I would say that most people not totally cut off from the modern world have _heard_ of DNA. And a large percentage of those know the image of DNA looking like a spiraling ladder with rungs. That may be where the majority of general knowledge ends. Brief genetics lesson: those rungs represent four possible molecules with names abbreviated as A, T, G and C. DNA encodes genes in the pattern of those four letters. A linear sequence of three of those letters makes the “words” of the genetic code. Three positions times four possible letters equals 64 possible words. Those 64 words are what tell the cell’s protein factories which amino acid to use next in the protein chain that they are building. Those 64 three-letter words are called codons. > **[How to Read the Amino Acids Codon Chart? - Genetic Code and mRNA Translation](https://rsscience.com/codon-chart/)** > > Cells need proteins to perform their functions. Amino acids codon chart (codon table) is used for RNA to translate into proteins. Amino acids are building blocks of proteins. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-this-word/1016988.md?page=2)