Etymology

biosphere

B3I1O1S1P3H4E1R1E1

Today it means: The part of the Earth and its atmosphere capable of supporting life. Full definition →

German Biosphäre ← Late Latin sphēra ← Latin sphaera
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*gʷeyh₃-
  2. Ancient Greekβῐ́ος (bĭ́os)
  3. Ancient Greekβιο- (bio-)
  4. Germanbio-
  5. Ancient Greekσφαῖρᾰ (sphaîră)
  6. Latinsphaera
  7. Late Latinsphēra
  8. GermanSphäre
  9. GermanBiosphäre
  10. English todaybiosphere

Borrowed from German Biosphäre, coined by Austrian geologist Eduard Suess in 1875. By surface analysis, bio- + -sphere.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.