|epə|stad.ik adjective
Etymology: after New Latin epistasis, after such pairs as English emphasis: emphatic
1. of a gene : exhibiting epistasis toward another gene
the gray coat-color gene is epistatic to all other color genes in horses
epistatic genes in fruit flies
2. of a hereditary character : induced by epistasis : appearing dominant over another character due to mediation by epistatic genes
pea and rose comb are not dominant to single comb but … epistatic to it — F.B.Hutt
3. : serving to suppress a gene or its expression
semidominants whose expression is suppressed by the epistatic effect of the genotype — I.L.Dordick