The word clone, from Greek klōn ‘twig, cutting from a plant’, is first recorded in 1903, when it referred to a group of plants produced by taking cuttings or grafts from an original. It has been used in the context of the genetic duplication of mammals since the early 1970s. Nowadays it is also used for someone who slavishly imitates someone else and for a computer that simulates another more expensive model. In gay culture a clone is a gay man who adopts an exaggeratedly macho appearance and style of dress.
不少植物具有神奇的繁殖能力。从树木上剪下一条细枝，插入地上后，这根细枝就能长成一棵大树。因此，20世纪初，科学家在研究植物的无性繁殖时，就借用了希腊语中的 clon （klōn -> twig细枝）一词，将它英语化为 clone ，用以表示植物的“无性繁殖”。