non-biogenic
|non-bi-o-gen-ic|
🇺🇸
/ˌnɑnˌbaɪoʊˈdʒɛnɪk/
🇬🇧
/ˌnɒnˌbaɪəˈdʒɛnɪk/
not produced by living organisms
Etymology
'non-biogenic' originates from English, specifically the prefix 'non-' + 'biogenic', where 'non-' meant 'not' and 'biogenic' meant 'produced by living organisms'.
'biogenic' ultimately comes from Greek elements 'bios' (life) and '-genic' from Greek 'genēs'/'genesis' (producing/origin). 'biogenic' entered scientific English via Neo-Latin, and the English prefix 'non-' (from Latin) was attached in modern scientific usage to form 'non-biogenic'.
Initially, 'biogenic' meant 'produced by life', and by adding the negative prefix it became 'non-biogenic', meaning 'not produced by life'—a usage that developed in modern scientific contexts.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
not biogenic; not produced by biological processes or living organisms; of non-biological origin.
The samples were determined to be non-biogenic, indicating an inorganic origin.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/12/26 00:46