What does "abiogenesis" mean?
The origination of living organisms from lifeless matter; such genesis as does not involve the action of living parents.
Abiogenesis
/ˌeɪbaɪəʊˈdʒɛnəsɪs/ noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The origination of living organisms from lifeless matter; such genesis as does not involve the action of living parents.
- Grammar: abiogenesis is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: autogenesis, autogeny, birth, development.
- Useful contrasts: biogenesis, biogeny.
- Usage evidence: From what I've heard, abiogenesis is a phenomenon where life surges from non-living matter.
How to use "abiogenesis"
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Meaning check
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Source and review context
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Before you rely on this definition
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Definition decision workflow
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Check whether "abiogenesis" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 The origination of living organisms from lifeless matter; such genesis as does not involve the action of living parents. countable, uncountable
"And thus the hypothesis that living matter always arises by the agency of pre-existing living matter, took definite shape; […] It will be necessary for me to refer to this hypothesis so frequently, that, to save circumlocution, I shall call it the hypothesis of Biogenesis; and I shall term the contrary doctrine—that living matter may be produced by not living matter—the hypothesis of Abiogenesis."
- 2 a hypothetical organic phenomenon by which living organisms are created from nonliving matter wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"From what I've heard, abiogenesis is a phenomenon where life surges from non-living matter."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "abiogenesis"?
Common synonyms include: autogenesis, autogeny, birth, development, generation, genesis.
How do you use "abiogenesis" in a sentence?
From what I've heard, abiogenesis is a phenomenon where life surges from non-living matter.
How do you pronounce "abiogenesis"?
Pronounced /ˌeɪbaɪəʊˈdʒɛnəsɪs/.
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, “not-”, the alpha privative) + 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”)); equivalent to abio- + genesis. The words biogenesis and abiogenesis were both coined by English biologist Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895) in 1870 (see the quotation).