antibiotic
/ˌæntibaɪˈɒtɪk/an-tee-bigh-O-tik
/ˌæntibaɪˈɑtɪk/an-tee-bigh-AH-tik
Meaningagainst life
Common meaning: a medicine that kills bacteria
- antiagainst
- biolife, way of livingLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 283 · scan
- ticadjective ending: relating to
‘against’ + ‘life, way of living’ → antibiotic
Journey through time
- Greekβίος (bíos)‘life, way of living’
- Englishantibiotic‘a medicine that kills bacteria’ · today
anti- also in: antidoteantipathyantipodesantithesisantitechnology
bio also in: biologybiographybiosphereaerobicmacrobiotic
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Ancient Greek βίος (bíos) ‘life, way of living’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), entry βίος (bíos), p. 283 · dictionary scan
Roots
- βίος (bíos) Ancient Greek “life, way of living”
Related words
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app