abiogenesis
Meanings
Plural: abiogeneses
Noun
- a hypothetical organic phenomenon by which living organisms are created from nonliving matter
- The origination of living organisms from lifeless matter; such genesis as does not involve the action of living parents.
Origin / Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, “not-”, the alpha privative) + βῐ́ος (bĭ́os, “life”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- (“to live”)) + γένεσις (génesis, “origin, source; manner of birth; creation”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁tis (“birth; production”)); equivalent to a- + biogenesis. The words biogenesis and abiogenesis were both coined by English biologist Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895) in 1870 (see the quotation).
Synonyms
abiogeny, autogenesis, autogeny, spontaneous generation
Antonyms
Scrabble Score: 14
abiogenesis is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordabiogenesis is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
abiogenesis is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary