microbiology
Meaningthe study of small life
Common meaning: the study of microorganisms
- microlittle, smallLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 513 (approximate) · scan
- biolife, way of livingLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 283 · scan
- loga word, saying; reckoning, reasonLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 476 · scan
- ynoun ending: study, state or act
‘little, small’ + ‘life, way of living’ + ‘a word, saying’ → microbiology
Journey through time
Neither part’s path through time is traced in our sources yet; each root is shown from its dictionary entry.
- micro — Ancient Greek μικρός (mikrós) “little, small” (dictionary form; path not traced)
- bio — Ancient Greek βίος (bíos) “life, way of living” (dictionary form; path not traced)
- log — Ancient Greek λόγος (lógos) “a word, saying; reckoning, reason” (dictionary form; path not traced)
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Ancient Greek μικρός (mikrós) ‘little, small’ + Ancient Greek βίος (bíos) ‘life, way of living’ + Ancient Greek λόγος (lógos) ‘a word, saying; reckoning, reason’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), entry βίος (bíos), p. 283 · dictionary scan
Roots
- βίος (bíos) Ancient Greek “life, way of living”
- λόγος (lógos) Ancient Greek “a word, saying; reckoning, reason”
- μικρός (mikrós) Ancient Greek “little, small”
Related words
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app