Biotechnology

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈbaɪəʊˌtɛk.nɒl.əʊ.dʒi/

Definitions

1. A branch of science that merges biological entities with technological processes to innovate solutions across medicine, agriculture, and industry
2. An interdisciplinary domain focusing on utilizing biological organisms and systems in technology to address challenges in health, farming, and environmental management
3. A field combining biological systems and technologies to create innovative applications in medicine, agriculture, and environmental sustainability

Etymology: The word is a modern compound, and its two halves come from ancient Greek. "Bio-" traces back to Greek "bios," meaning life, while "technology" is built from "techne," meaning craft or skill, and "logia," the suffix for a systematic study. Ancient Greeks had "technologia" as a term for the systematic treatment of an art, but they never combined it with "bios" or anything resembling this field. The combination is an English formation, made by joining "bio-" to "technology," which itself came into English by way of Latin from the Greek "technologia." Putting the two together produced a term for the deliberate use of living systems in tools and processes, which is why the word now covers everything from engineered crops to drug manufacturing. The Greek roots are old, but the compound is recent. The word was assembled in English from pieces that had already been in use for a long time, so its novelty lies entirely in the joining.

Synonyms: genetic engineering, biomedical technology, bioengineering, molecular biology, bioscience