Aerotolerant

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. An organism capable of living in oxygen-rich settings while primarily relying on fermentation for energy production
2. A type of microbe that can withstand high oxygen levels without resorting to aerobic respiration, favoring fermentation instead
3. A type of organism that can thrive in environments with abundant oxygen while primarily using fermentation for its energy needs

Etymology: "Aerotolerant" is a compound built from two parts with a plain, technical history. The first part, "aero-", comes from the Greek "aēr", meaning air, and entered scientific vocabulary as a combining form for anything involving air or gases. The second part, "tolerant", comes from the Latin "tolerare", meaning to bear or endure, and reached English through Latin and French as a word for putting up with something unpleasant. Joined together, the two parts describe an organism that can endure oxygen, which is the sense it has in microbiology. The word is a modern coinage made from classical building blocks, not a term that ancient writers used. Its meaning follows directly from its parts: the word names microbes that survive in oxygen without needing it, as opposed to strict anaerobes that are poisoned by it.