<h2>Update</h2>

<p><a href="https://bioinformatics.stackexchange.com/questions/747/what-is-the-etymology-of-entrez-id/748#comment1340_747">As pointed out by neilfws</a>:</p>

<p>According to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrez" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wikipedia</a> and Practical bioinformatics by Michael Agostino: The name "Entrez" means "Come in!" in French (pronounced “on-tray”); it was chosen to reflect the spirit of welcoming the public to search the content.</p>

<h2>Old (probably incorrect) theory</h2>

<p>The first version of Entrez database was <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK3837/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">distributed</a> by NCBI in 1991 (on CD-ROM). At that time, it consisted of nucleotide sequences, protein sequences and associated citations and abstracts from MEDLINE. </p>

<p>So even at the early stage it contained objects (entries) of very different types (sequences and abstracts). It is hard to find a word which will accurately and briefly describe all the types of data.</p>

<p>While I don't know the correct answer and this is purely a speculation, my guess is that Entrez is an intentionally misspelled word "entries"; which accurately describes all the datatypes in the database.</p>

<p>Using a misspelled word as a name is not uncommon, e.g. Google comes from misspelled "googol" and Flickr is a misspelled version of "flicker".</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-15T16:11:27.677Z
Haa, so my hypothesis was close to being correct! (French is my native language, this is why it surprised me and why I'm never sure about how to pronounce it, French or English way). Thanks a lot @neilfws and Iakov Davydov
francoiskroll
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-15T09:03:44.387Z
2017-06-15T14:40:09.540Z
2017-06-15T14:40:09.540Z
Iakov Davydov
<p>Since I have seen NCBI gene names were called "Entrez ID" for the first time, I am wondering where that comes from. Such a weird name!</p>

<p>Does anybody know where that originates?</p>

<p>My hypothesis is: in French, "entrez" can be translated to "please enter" (it is <code>to enter</code> in the imperative mood), so I'm guessing that might come from a past website/database in French where <code>Entrez ID</code> as in "Please enter the ID" was written in the search bar...</p>

<p>But I could not find any reference... I cannot be the only one to ask himself this!</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-15T09:04:28.720Z
[A Brief History of NCBI’s Formation and Growth](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK148949/) only mentions Entrez starting as a search and retrieval system in CD form, and the [Entrez wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrez) doesn't elaborate on the name, so given this information I'd assume it's just a name given to the original database interface. Someone who was involved back then might know more though!
Norling
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-15T13:19:31.520Z
The Entrez Wikipedia page elaborates somewhat on the name. "The name "Entrez" (a greeting meaning "Come in!" in French) was chosen to reflect the spirit of welcoming the public to search the content available from the NLM." This is mentioned also in a Google Books search result. But "citation needed".
neilfws
<gene>
What is the etymology of "Entrez ID"?
# What is the etymology of "Entrez ID"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-06-15)

Since I have seen NCBI gene names were called "Entrez ID" for the first time, I am wondering where that comes from. Such a weird name!

Does anybody know where that originates?

My hypothesis is: in French, "entrez" can be translated to "please enter" (it is `to enter` in the imperative mood), so I'm guessing that might come from a past website/database in French where `Entrez ID` as in "Please enter the ID" was written in the search bar...

But I could not find any reference... I cannot be the only one to ask himself this!

**Tags:** gene
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: [A Brief History of NCBI’s Formation and Growth](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK148949/) only mentions Entrez starting as a search and retrieval system in CD form, and the [Entrez wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrez) doesn't elaborate on the name, so given this information I'd assume it's just a name given to the original database interface. Someone who was involved back then might know more though!  
> **username_2**: The Entrez Wikipedia page elaborates somewhat on the name. "The name "Entrez" (a greeting meaning "Come in!" in French) was chosen to reflect the spirit of welcoming the public to search the content available from the NLM." This is mentioned also in a Google Books search result. But "citation needed".  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2017-06-15. Score: 3

## Update

[As pointed out by neilfws](https://bioinformatics.stackexchange.com/questions/747/what-is-the-etymology-of-entrez-id/748#comment1340_747):

According to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrez) and Practical bioinformatics by Michael Agostino: The name "Entrez" means "Come in!" in French (pronounced “on-tray”); it was chosen to reflect the spirit of welcoming the public to search the content.

## Old (probably incorrect) theory

The first version of Entrez database was [distributed](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK3837/) by NCBI in 1991 (on CD-ROM). At that time, it consisted of nucleotide sequences, protein sequences and associated citations and abstracts from MEDLINE.

So even at the early stage it contained objects (entries) of very different types (sequences and abstracts). It is hard to find a word which will accurately and briefly describe all the types of data.

While I don't know the correct answer and this is purely a speculation, my guess is that Entrez is an intentionally misspelled word "entries"; which accurately describes all the datatypes in the database.

Using a misspelled word as a name is not uncommon, e.g. Google comes from misspelled "googol" and Flickr is a misspelled version of "flicker".

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Haa, so my hypothesis was close to being correct! (French is my native language, this is why it surprised me and why I'm never sure about how to pronounce it, French or English way). Thanks a lot @neilfws and Iakov Davydov  

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