A
haplotype is, in the simplest terms, a specific group of
genes or
alleles that progeny inherited from one parent. There are, however, several specific definitions of the term being used in the field of genetics. First, it is a
portmanteau word for
haploid genotype, which is a collection of specific
alleles (that is, specific
DNA sequences) in a cluster of tightly-linked genes on a
chromosome that are likely to be inherited together—that is, they are likely to be conserved as a sequence that survives the descent of many generations of reproduction.