Meanings
plural biospheres
- The part of the Earth and its atmosphere capable of supporting life.
- The totality of living organisms and their environment.
1 more example
Patavig is the second of the Macedon system's giant terrestrial planets, and by far the more interesting. Most of the surface is covered by a vast sea of liquid ammonia, in which a unique aquatic ammonia-based biosphere has developed. While the frozen continents are largely bereft of life, a rich bounty of complex organisms — many larger than a human — flourish in the chilly, toxic seas.
2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Patavig
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*gʷeyh₃-
- Ancient Greekβῐ́ος (bĭ́os)
- Ancient Greekβιο- (bio-)
- Germanbio-
- Ancient Greekσφαῖρᾰ (sphaîră)
- Latinsphaera
- Late Latinsphēra
- GermanSphäre
- GermanBiosphäre
- Englishbiosphere
Borrowed from German Biosphäre, coined by Austrian geologist Eduard Suess in 1875. By surface analysis, bio- + -sphere.
More words from German
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan biosfera
- biosferapart of Earth capable of supporting life
Chinese Mandarin 生物圈
- 生物圈 (shēngwùquān)part of Earth capable of supporting life
Czech biosféra
- biosférapart of Earth capable of supporting life
Dutch biosfeer
- biosfeerpart of Earth capable of supporting life
Estonian elukond, biosfäär
- elukondpart of Earth capable of supporting life
- biosfäärpart of Earth capable of supporting life
- elukondtotality of living organisms
Finnish biosfääri, elonkehä
- biosfääripart of Earth capable of supporting life
- elonkehäpart of Earth capable of supporting life
- biosfääritotality of living organisms
French biosphère
- biosphèrepart of Earth capable of supporting life
German Biosphäre
- Biosphärepart of Earth capable of supporting life
Greek βιόσφαιρα, βιόσφαιρα
- βιόσφαιρα (viósfaira)part of Earth capable of supporting life
- βιόσφαιρα (viósfaira)totality of living organisms
Hebrew ביוספרה
- ביוספרה (biosféra)part of Earth capable of supporting life
Hindi जीवमंडल, जीवमंडल
- जीवमंडल (jīvmaṇḍal)part of Earth capable of supporting life
- जीवमंडल (jīvmaṇḍal)totality of living organisms
Hungarian bioszféra
- bioszférapart of Earth capable of supporting life
Indonesian biosfer
- biosferpart of Earth capable of supporting life
Italian biosfera
- biosferapart of Earth capable of supporting life
Japanese 生物圏
- 生物圏 (seibutsuken)part of Earth capable of supporting life
Korean 생물권
- 생물권 (saengmulgwon)part of Earth capable of supporting life
Latin biosphaera
- biosphaerapart of Earth capable of supporting life
Malay biosfera
- biosferapart of Earth capable of supporting life
Māori ao rauropi
- ao rauropipart of Earth capable of supporting life
Norwegian Bokmål biosfære
- biosfærepart of Earth capable of supporting life
Persian زیستکره, زیستسپهر
- زیستکره (zist-kore)part of Earth capable of supporting life
- زیستسپهر (zist-sepehr)part of Earth capable of supporting life
Polish biosfera
- biosferapart of Earth capable of supporting life
Portuguese biosfera
- biosferapart of Earth capable of supporting life
Russian биосфе́ра
- биосфе́ра (biosféra)part of Earth capable of supporting life
Spanish biosfera
- biosferapart of Earth capable of supporting life
Swedish biosfär
- biosfärpart of Earth capable of supporting life
Vietnamese sinh quyển
- sinh quyểnpart of Earth capable of supporting life
Cite this entry
biosphere. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/biosphere
“biosphere.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/biosphere. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “biosphere,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/biosphere.
Source: biosphere on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.