biosphere
/ˈbaɪəʊsˌfɪə/BIGH-ohs-fir
/ˈbaɪoʊsˌfɪɹ/BIGH-ohs-fir
Meaningthe ball of life
Common meaning: the layer of land, sea and air in which living things are found
- biolife, way of livingLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 283 · scan
- spherefrom Greek sphaîra, a ball or globe
‘life, way of living’ + ‘from Greek sphaîra, a ball or globe’ → biosphere
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