Etymology

plastisphere

P3L1A1S1T1I1S1P3H4E1R1E1

Today it means: The ecosystem on the surface of a piece of plastic (especially in a marine environment). Full definition →

English sphere ← Middle English spere ← Old French sphere
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The story

  1. Proto-Hellenic*plátʰyō
  2. Proto-Hellenic*plát͏̌t͏̌ō?
  3. Ancient Greekπλάσσω (plássō)
  4. Ancient Greekπλᾰστῐκός (plăstĭkós)
  5. Latinplasticus
  6. Englishplastic
  7. Ancient Greekσφαῖρᾰ (sphaîră)
  8. Latinsphaera
  9. Late Latinsphēra
  10. Old Frenchsphere
  11. Middle Englishspere
  12. Englishsphere
  13. English todayplastisphere

From plastic + -sphere, analogous to biosphere. Coined by American biologist Linda Amaral-Zettler.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.