Etymology

prebiotic

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Today it means: Before the advent of life. Full definition →

First used 20th c.English biotic ← Middle English pre- ← Latin prae-
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*preh₂-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*préh₂i?
  4. Proto-Italic*prai
  5. Proto-Italic*prai-
  6. Latinprae-
  7. Middle Englishpre-
  8. Englishpre-
  9. Englishbiotic
  10. English todayprebiotic

From pre- + biotic.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 20th c. A substance in food that is hard to digest and promotes the growth of beneficial intestinal microorganisms.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.