Men ‧ del, Greg ‧ or Jo ‧ hann /ˈmendl, ˈɡreɡɔː ˈjəʊhæn $ ˈɡreɡər ˈjəʊhɑːn/ BrE AmE
(1822–84) an Austrian ↑ monk (=a member of a group of Christian men who live apart from other people) who studied the ↑ pea plant in order to find out how qualities are passed from parent plants to their children. Many years later his discoveries were used by scientists who were developing the new science of ↑ genetics .