Bioethical

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Involving the examination of ethical issues and moral consequences in life sciences and healthcare practices
2. Concerning the investigation of moral dilemmas and ethical considerations in relation to biological sciences and healthcare practices
3. Pertaining to the study and application of moral principles within biological and medical fields

Etymology: Bioethical is a plain modern compound: bio- added to ethical. The bio- part comes from Ancient Greek "bios", meaning life, which entered English in the form "bio-" as a combining element. Ethical itself traces back to Greek "ēthikos", relating to character or custom. Putting the two together produces a word for moral questions raised by the life sciences and medicine. The pairing reflects a modern concern rather than an ancient one. The Greek roots were available for centuries, but the combination describes a field of inquiry that arose only as biology and medicine grew powerful enough to raise new moral dilemmas. The word therefore did not exist for the physicians and philosophers of earlier eras, even though its parts were already old.

Synonyms: biomedical, ethical, moral, scientific, philosophical