Etymology

prokaryote

pro·kary·ote
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Today it means: An organism whose cell (or cells) are characterized by the absence of a nucleus or any other membrane-bound organelles. Full definition →

English karyon ← Ancient Greek πρό (pró) ← Proto-Indo-European *pró
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-der.?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*pér
  3. Proto-Indo-European*pró
  4. Ancient Greekπρό (pró)
  5. Englishpro-
  6. Englishkaryon
  7. English todayprokaryote

From pro- + karyon + -ote.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.