Main Entry: lo·cus

Pronunciation: \ˈlō-kəs\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural lo·ci \ˈlō-ˌsī, -ˌkī, -ˌkē\

Etymology: Latin — more at stall

Date: 1715

1 a : the place where something is situated or occurs : site, location <was the culture of medicine in the beginning dispersed from a single focus or did it arise in several loci? — S. C. Harvey> b : a center of activity, attention, or concentration <in democracy the locus of power is in the people — H. G. Rickover>
2 : the set of all points whose location is determined by stated conditions
3 : the position in a chromosome of a particular gene or allele