Bio Words referring to “life” :
“symbiosis” to “zoobiosis”
Part 20 of 20
bio-, bi-, -bia, -bial, -bian, -bion, -biont, -bius, -biosis, -bium, -biotic, -biotical, -biotic (Greek: life; living, live, alive).
Don’t confuse this element with another bi- that means “two”.
If you would like to take a self-scoring quiz over some of the words in this section, then click
Bio-Quiz so you can see how much you know about the
following “bio” words.
symbiosis, symbiotic, symbiotical, symbiotism:
1. Living together, social life.
2. Association of two different organisms (usually two plants, or an animal and a plant) which live attached to each other, or one as a tenant of the other, and contribute to each other’s support. Also more widely, any intimate association of two or more different organisms, whether mutually beneficial or not.
3. The biological association of two or more species to their mutual benefit.
4. The mutual cooperation or interdependence of two persons, as mother and infant, or husband and wife; sometimes used to denote excessive or pathological interdependence of two persons.
symbiote, symbiont, symbion:
An organism associated with another in symbiosis; a symbiotic organism.
symbiotrophy, symbiotrophic:
1. Obtaining nourishment through symbiosis.
2. A reference to an organism obtaining nourishment through a symbiotic relationship.
synclerobiosis:
An adventitious, and frequently temporary, association between two species of ants.
thamnobiontic, thamnobiont:
Living in bushes and shrubs.
thanatobiology, thanatobiologic:
Relating to the proceses involved in life and death.
thermobiology:
The study of the effects of heat on living organisms and biological processes.
thermobiosis:
Thriving at relatively high temperatures; such as, certain bacteria. Also known as thermophil or thermophilic.
triphibious, triphibiously:
Capable of living or operating on land, on water, and in the air; specifically of or pertaining to military operations involving land, sea, and air forces.
troglobiont:
A cave-dwelling organism.
trophobiosis:
Symbiosis in insects in which food is obtained from one species (the trophobiont) by another in return for protection.
tryphobiontic:
Inhabiting or living in bogs.
unbiological:
1. Not in accord with the findings of biology.
2. Not such as occurs in the course of nature or as studied in biology.
xenobiosis:
A form of symbiosis among ants in which two colonies of different species live together on friendly terms without rearing their broods in common.
xenobiotic:
1. A pharmacologically, endocrinologically, or toxicologically active substance not endogenously produced and therefore foreign to an organism.
2. A foreign organic chemical; a reference to environmental pollutants such as pesticides in runoff water.
zoobiosis:
The condition of a parasitic fungus that infests an animal.
You may take a self-scoring quiz over some of the words in this section by just clicking on
Bio Quiz #6 to check your word knowledge.