Microbiota

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The community of microscopic organisms, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses, that inhabit a particular environment such as the human body or soil
2. A diverse collection of microscopic life forms, such as bacteria, fungi, and archaea, that coexist in a specific ecosystem like the gut or soil
3. A variety of tiny living organisms, including bacteria and viruses, that reside within a defined habitat, influencing health and ecology

Etymology: Microbiota is a modern scientific coinage, built from two parts that are both much older than the word itself. The first part, "micro-", comes from the Ancient Greek "mīkrós", meaning "small", and reached English as a combining form. The second part, "biota", is a term for the living organisms of a particular region or period, so the whole word literally means "small life" in the sense of the tiny organisms that share a habitat. The Greek root shows up in many English words, but "microbiota" is a recent formation, not something ancient writers would have recognised. The word is a plain compound: micro- attached to biota, with no hidden story behind the combination. Its value lies in the precision it gives, naming a whole community of microscopic life at once rather than individual microbes.

Synonyms: microflora, microbial community, bacterial community