biofilm-permissive
|bi-o-film-per-mis-sive|
🇺🇸
/ˈbaɪ.oʊ.fɪlm pərˈmɪsɪv/
🇬🇧
/ˈbaɪ.əʊ.fɪlm pəˈmɪsɪv/
allows biofilm formation
Etymology
'biofilm-permissive' originates from English, specifically the compound 'biofilm' + 'permissive', where 'bio-' comes from Greek 'bios' meaning 'life', 'film' meant 'thin layer' in English, and 'permissive' ultimately derives from Latin 'permittere' meaning 'to allow or let through'.
'biofilm' is a modern scientific formation combining Greek 'bios' and English 'film' (coined in microbiology in the 20th century), while 'permissive' evolved from Latin 'permittere' via Old French and Middle English; the two elements were combined in modern English usage to form the compound adjective 'biofilm-permissive'.
Initially, 'biofilm' referred to a life-associated thin layer and 'permissive' meant 'allowing'; when combined as 'biofilm-permissive' the term came to be used specifically in microbiology and materials science to mean 'allowing biofilm development' and has retained that technical sense.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
allowing or conducive to the attachment, growth, or development of microbial biofilms on a surface or within an environment.
The catheter's outer coating was found to be biofilm-permissive, leading to recurrent infections.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Adjective 2
describing an environment, material, or condition that does not prevent (and may unintentionally enable) biofilm establishment or maturation.
Stagnant water and nutrient-rich surfaces are often biofilm-permissive conditions in industrial systems.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/12/23 04:41