English
biogenesis
Biogenesis comes from Ancient Greek βῐ́ος ‘life’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβῐ́οςbĭ́os‘life’
- Englishearliest quotation 1870biogenesis
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβῐ́οςbĭ́os‘life’
- Englishearliest quotation 1870biogenesis
Earliest quotation: 1870, Thomas Henry Huxley, The President’s Address: “And thus the hypothesis that living matter always arises…”
first attested 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and neurologist Henry Charlton Bastian (1837–1915) around 1869 to mean “life-origination or commencement” in an unpublished exchange of correspondence with Irish physicist John Tyndall (as stated in the etymology)
The story
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and neurologist Henry Charlton Bastian (1837–1915) around 1869 to mean “life-origination or commencement” in an unpublished exchange of correspondence with Irish physicist John Tyndall.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.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’
king, general, nature, german, native, pregnant, engine, generation, gender, ken, genius, oxygen, indigenous, genuine, genetic, genre, generate, gene, naive, kindness, kin, noel, genocide, nationalism, hydrogen, innate, natal, genus, kinder, nativity, nada, genital, naïve, germ, nee, janata, ingenious, nascent, puny, cognate, 106 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁tis ‘birth’
kind, nation, gentle, genetics, gentile, jaunty, gens, genteel, nomen, 14 more
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- ‘to live’
quick, vital, couch, vitamin, viable, kidney, vivid, biology, revive, hygiene, zodiac, vive, vivacious, convivial, wyvern, vivacity, 61 more
through Ancient Greek βῐ́ος ‘life’
Today it means
noun The principle that living organisms are produced only from other living organisms.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek βῐ́ος / biogenesis