Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “microbiology” come from?

Microbiology derives from English micro- plus biology, which comes from Ancient Greek βίος (bíos, "life") and λόγος (lógos, "word" or "study"), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʷeih₃w- and leǵ-.

microbiology (English): The branch of biology that deals with...

Definitions

  1. The branch of biology that deals with...

Ancestry of “microbiology”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishBiology—
2New Latinbiologia—
3Ancient Greekβίοςlife
4Ancient GreekΓένεσις—
5Proto-Hellenicgénetisorigin, source
6Proto-Indo-Europeanǵénh₁tisbirth, production
7Proto-Indo-Europeanǵenh₁-to produce, to beget, to give birth

Words derived from “microbiology”

  • geomicrobiology
  • paleomicrobiology
  • astromicrobiology
  • xenomicrobiology
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵenh₁- →