Aerobe

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɛː.rəʊb/

Definitions

1. A type of organism that can only live in environments with oxygen present
2. An entity that thrives exclusively in oxygen-rich surroundings for its metabolic processes
3. An organism that needs oxygen to grow and carry out life functions

Etymology: The key fact is that "aerobe" was built from two Greek words that the modern world never used together: "aēr", meaning air, and "bios", meaning life. Ancient Greek speakers had both separately, but the compound belongs to the age of microscopes. It was coined in French as "aérobie" and passed into English from there, so the word is a modern scientific creation assembled from classical parts rather than something the ancients said. The first half, "aēr", descends from a very old root for the air and sky, and it gave English "aero-" in words like aeronautics. The second half, "bios", means life or way of living, and it appears in words such as biology and biography. Put together, the parts describe an organism that lives in air, or more precisely one that needs oxygen to survive.