Biofuel

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈbaɪ.əʊˌfjʊ(.ə)l/

Definitions

1. A renewable energy source derived from organic materials that serves to produce energy
2. An alternative fuel originating from biological substances that can help reduce fossil fuel dependency
3. A type of energy source made by converting substances from plants or animals into usable fuel

Etymology: The "bio-" in "biofuel" comes from the ancient Greek "bios", meaning "life", and it has been a building block for English compounds only in modern times. The fuel part is older and more ordinary: "fuel" came into English through Anglo-Norman and Old French from Latin roots meaning something to be burned or kindled, and it originally referred to firewood and the like. Put together, the word describes fuel made from living or recently living matter, such as plants, rather than from ancient deposits of coal, oil or gas. The compound is a straightforward modern coinage. Its first element, "bio-", is a combining form drawn from Greek "bios", and English speakers began using it widely in words for living things and life processes in the 19th and 20th centuries. "Biofuel" is therefore not an ancient word with an ancient meaning; it was built from parts that were already in use, to name a category of energy that became important only as people looked for alternatives to fossil fuels.

Synonyms: renewable fuel, biomass, green fuel, plant fuel, sustainable energy

Antonyms: fossil fuel, nonrenewable energy, petroleum, coal, gasoline