minihelix
/ˌmɪnɪˈhiːlɪks/Molecular Biol.
noun
A short helical region of a larger nucleic acid molecule, especially a tRNA; a synthetic analogue of such a region. Originally also: a very short sequence of complementary nucleotides (now rare ).
Origin
1970s; earliest use found in Nature: a weekly journal of science. From mini- + helix.