In genetics, the mating of closely related individuals. It is considered undesirable because it increases the risk that offspring will inherit copies of rare deleterious recessive alleles (genes) from both parents and so suffer from disabilities.
The act of mating mating closely related individuals.

ETYM French inceste, Latin incestum unchastity, incest, from incestus unchaste; pref. in- not + castus chaste. Related to Chaste.
Sexual intercourse between persons too closely related to marry (as between a parent and a child).
/> Sexual intercourse between persons thought to be too closely related to marry; the exact relationships that fall under the incest taboo vary widely from society to society. A biological explanation for the incest taboo is based on the necessity to avoid inbreeding.
Within groups in which ritual homosexuality is practiced, for example in New Guinea, an incest taboo applies also to these relations, suggesting that the taboo is as much social as biological in origin. + prikaži više