The proportion of a particular allele among all copies of a gene in a population, expressed as a decimal or percentage. It measures how common or rare different versions of a gene are in a population.
From Greek 'allelon' meaning 'of one another' (shortened to 'allele' in 1930s) and Latin 'frequentia' meaning 'a crowding or multitude'. The concept developed alongside population genetics in the early 20th century as scientists needed to quantify genetic variation.
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