biogenesis
Meanings
Plural: biogeneses
Noun
- production of a chemical compound by a living organism
- the production of living organisms from other living organisms
- The principle that living organisms are produced only from other living organisms.
- Biosynthesis.
Origin / Etymology
From Ancient Greek 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”)). The words biogenesis and abiogenesis were both coined by English biologist Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895) in 1870 (see the quotation).
The word biogenesis was first used by English physiologist and neurologist Henry Charlton Bastian (1837–1915) around 1869 to mean “life-origination or commencement” in an unpublished exchange of correspondence with Irish physicist John Tyndall. However, in an 1871 book, Bastian announced he was adopting a new term, archebiosis, because of the confusion that might be caused by Huxley’s use of biogenesis with a different meaning.
Equivalent to bio- + genesis.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Scrabble Score: 13
biogenesis is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordbiogenesis is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
biogenesis is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary