Biomolecule

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A vital organic compound that includes proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and lipids, which are fundamental for biological activity and sustaining life processes
2. An essential substance made up of large organic molecules, including proteins, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, and lipids, that serve critical roles in living organisms
3. A crucial organic entity comprising large molecules such as proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and lipids, which are integral to the function and maintenance of life forms

Etymology: "Biomolecule" is a plain compound, built from "bio-", from Ancient Greek "bios" meaning life, and "molecule," a diminutive of Latin "moles," meaning mass or bulk. Taken together, the parts describe a small mass of life: a molecule that belongs to a living organism. The Latin root gives "molecule" its sense of a tiny piece of matter. Through New Latin "molecula" and French "molécule," the term entered English with the idea of the smallest particle of a substance. Attaching "bio-" to it simply marks that the molecule is one of the chemical building blocks produced by living things, such as proteins, sugars, and nucleic acids.

Synonyms: biological molecule, organic molecule