nonphototaxis
|non-pho-to-tax-is|
🇺🇸
/nɑnˌfoʊtəˈtæksɪs/
🇬🇧
/nɒnˌfəʊtəˈtæksɪs/
no directed movement in response to light
Etymology
'nonphototaxis' is an English compound formed from the prefix 'non-' (originally Latin 'non' meaning 'not') combined with 'phototaxis'; 'photo-' comes from Greek 'phōtós' meaning 'light', and 'taxis' comes from Greek 'táxis' meaning 'arrangement, ordering, or movement'.
'phototaxis' was formed in modern scientific terminology from the New Latin/Greek roots 'photo-' + 'taxis' and entered English scientific usage in the late 19th to early 20th century; 'nonphototaxis' is a later English formation created by prefixing 'non-' to 'phototaxis' to denote the absence of that response.
Originally, Greek 'táxis' meant 'arrangement' or 'ordering'; in biological usage it came to mean directed movement in response to a stimulus ('taxis'), and 'phototaxis' came to mean movement in response to light; 'nonphototaxis' thus evolved to mean the absence of such light-directed movement.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the condition or behavior characterized by the absence of phototaxis — i.e., an organism or cell shows no directed movement toward or away from a light source.
Under the microscope, the protozoa exhibited nonphototaxis instead of moving toward the light.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/12/06 01:39