biology

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

biology

/baɪˈɒləd͡ʒi/ UK
/bɑjˈɔləd͡ʒɪj/ British, Southern, Standard
/baɪˈɑləd͡ʒi/ US
/baɪˌɑl(ə)ˈd͡ʒi/ US
/bɑeˈɔləd͡ʒi/ Australia
/bɑeˈɒləd͡ʒi/ New Zealand
/bʌɪˈɔləd͡ʒe/ Scotland
/-d͡ʒɪ/ Scotland
/-d͡ʒi/ Scotland
/baj(ɵ)ˈlɔdʒi/ South Asia
/baˈjɔlədʒi/ South Asia
/ˈbaj(ɵ)lədʒi/ South Asia

Rhymes with -ɒlədʒi

Where it comes from

Borrowed from New Latin biologia (1766), itself from Ancient Greek βίος (bíos, “bio-, life”) + -λογία (-logía, “-logy, branch of study, to speak”). By surface analysis, bio- + -logy.

In English, first attested in the modern meaning in the work of English physician Thomas Beddoes in 1799. The term is also recorded in the sense of a biographical history in the work of Dudley Loftus in 1686, but this is considered by the Oxford English Dictionary to be an isolated use. The modern Greek βιολογία (viología) is borrowed from the English term and French biologie via international scientific vocabulary. Piecewise doublet of zoology.

noun biologies

countable, uncountable The study of all life or living matter. Near-synonyms: life science, life sciences; see also Thesaurus:biology
Similar: lifelore, life science, life sciences
countable, uncountable The living organisms of a particular region. The object of these prizes is to stimulate and encourage original investigation by the aid of the microscope in the biology of North America, and, while the competition is open to all, it is especially commended to advanced students in biology in such of our universities and colleges as furnish oppo
countable, uncountable The structure, function, and behavior of an organism or type of organism. the biology of the whale
archaic, countable, uncountable A biographical history. That a Town has a biology of its own has been, since Freeman and Green, a familiar idea to us. But it was not in England, with its old established central governments, that the idea was likely to arise; and we know what the local history of our old antiquaries was like.

Similar: biology, lifelore · Opposite: abiology, nonbiology

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: biota, biological science, biologic, organic, biological, ecology, biologically, biotechnology, biomedicine, physiological, microbiology, dna, bio, life, science, living

noun

Similar: biology, lifelore · Opposite: abiology, nonbiology

Translations

Every language

noun study of living matter

Español	biología
한국어	생물학 saengmulhak
日本語	生物学 seibutsugaku
中文	生物學 /生物学 shēngwùxué
हिन्दी	जीवविज्ञान jīvvijñān, जैविकी jaivikī
Kiswahili	biolojia, elimuviumbe
Português	biologia
Français	biologie
Deutsch	Biologie
Italiano	biologia
Ελληνικά	βιολογία viología
Română	biologie
Русский	биоло́гия biológija
Tiếng Việt	sinh học, sinh vật học
العربية	عِلْم اَلْأَحْيَاء ʕilm al-ʔaḥyāʔ, بِيُولُوجِيَا biyulūjiyā
עברית	ביולוגיה biologia

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"biology." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/biology. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

biology. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/biology

Chicago

"biology." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/biology.

BibTeX

@misc{biology_2026,
  title = {biology},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/biology},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}