biomineralization

noun

The formation of hard mineral deposits within a living organism; especially the process whereby bone and similar structural material is formed.

OriginEnglish mineralization ← Ancient Greek βῐο- (bĭo-) ← Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- →
Scrabble 30
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounbiomineralization (countable and uncountable, plural biomineralizations)

plural biomineralizations

  1. countableuncountablebiochemistryThe formation of hard mineral deposits within a living organism; especially the process whereby bone and similar structural material is formed.

    This process of ‘biomineralization’ is used today to reclaim gold from the Youanmi deposits of Western Australia.

    2002, Philip Ball, The Elements: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, published 2004, page 51

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*gʷeyh₃-
  2. Ancient Greekβῐ́ος (bĭ́os)
  3. Ancient Greekβῐο- (bĭo-)
  4. Englishbio-
  5. Englishmineral
  6. Englishmineralization
  7. Englishbiomineralization

From bio- + mineralization.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

biomineralization. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/biomineralization

MLA

“biomineralization.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/biomineralization. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “biomineralization,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/biomineralization.

Source: biomineralization on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.