Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “biome” come from?

Biome comes from English bio- and English -oma, derived from Ancient Greek βίος meaning "life," from Proto-Indo-European gʷih₃wós, related to the root gʷeih₃w-.

biome (English): Any major regional biological community such as...

Definitions

  1. Any major regional biological community such as...

Ancestry of “biome”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishBioAbbreviation of biology
2EnglishbiologyThe study of all life or living matter; The...
3Ancient Greekβίοςlife
4Ancient GreekΓένεσις—
5Proto-Hellenicgénetisorigin, source
6Proto-Indo-Europeanǵénh₁tisbirth, production
7Proto-Indo-Europeanǵenh₁-to produce, to beget, to give birth

Words derived from “biome”

  • microbiome
  • mycobiome
  • thanatomicrobiome
  • macrobiome
  • anthropobiome
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵenh₁- →