I. ˈzhen, ˈzhān, F zheen noun
( -s )
Etymology: French gêne, from Old French gehine torture (to make one confess), from gehir, jehir to confess, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German jehan to speak, say — more at joke
: embarrassment , uneasiness
a certain amount of gene with relatives — Evelyn Waugh
II. ˈjēn noun
( -s )
Etymology: German gen, short for pangen
: one of the elements of the germ plasm serving as specific transmitters of hereditary characters and usually regarded as portions of deoxyribonucleic acids linearly arranged in fixed positions and as functioning through control of the synthesis of specific polypeptide chains