Biosphere

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈbaɪəʊˌsfɪə(ɹ)/

Definitions

1. The zone of Earth containing all living organisms and the environments in which they exist, including the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere where life is present
2. The global system encompassing all living organisms, their habitats, and the physical layers of Earth where life exists and interacts
3. The totality of all ecosystems and living creatures distributed throughout Earth's atmosphere, water, and soil in continuous interaction

Etymology: Austrian geologist Eduard Suess coined the German "Biosphäre" in 1875, and English borrowed it from there. The coinage drew on two Greek pieces that have very different histories. "Bio-" comes from "bios," meaning life, a root that also gave English "biology" and "biography." "-sphere" comes from "sphaira," a ball or globe, which passed into Latin as "sphaera" and then into German as "Sphäre." Suess built the term from these parts to name the thin zone where life exists across Earth's surface, from the air above to the soil and water below. Put together, the word describes a living globe, though the Greek "sphaira" was a physical ball long before anyone applied it to the layer of living things wrapped around the planet.

Synonyms: ecosystem, environment