resulting from the activity of living organisms, as fermentation
2.
necessary for the life process, as food and water
Word origin
[1875–80; bio- + -genic]This word is first recorded in the period 1875–80. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Diaspora, cross-fertilization, fan-tan, neoclassic, slime moldbio- is a combining form meaning “life” occurring in loanwords from Greek (biography). On this model, bio- is used in the formation of compound words (bioluminescence). Other words that use the affix bio- include: bioconversion, bioherm, biosocial, biosynthesis, biotelemetry; -genic is a combining form often corresponding to nouns ending in -gen or -geny, with the following senses: “producing or causing” (hallucinogenic); “produced or caused by” (cosmogenic); “pertaining to a gene or genes” (polygenic); “pertaining to suitability for reproduction by a medium” (telegenic)
Examples of 'biogenic' in a sentence
biogenic
The loch's biogenic reefs are of international scientific importance.