Etymology

heterotrophic

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Today it means: Being a heterotroph. Full definition →

Ancient Greek τροφῐκός (trophĭkós) ← Proto-Hellenic *tʰrépʰō ← English hetero-
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*sem-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*sḿ̥teros
  3. Proto-Hellenic*hə́teros
  4. Ancient Greekἕτερος (héteros)
  5. Englishhetero-
  6. Proto-Hellenic*tʰrépʰō
  7. Ancient Greekτρέφω (tréphō)
  8. Ancient Greekτροφή (trophḗ)
  9. Ancient Greekτροφῐκός (trophĭkós)
  10. English todayheterotrophic

From hetero- + -trophic.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.