bio

life

Spelled bio · bios 'life'

Greek bios means life: biography writes a life, biodiversity names life's variety, and symbiosis joins lives together.

Words built from it

biography — a written account of someone's life
bio (life) + graphy (writing)
autobiography — an account of one's own life, written by oneself
auto- (self) + bio (life) + graphy (writing)
biodegradable — capable of being broken down by living organisms
bio (life) + degradable (able to break down)
biodiversity — the variety of life in a given area
bio (life) + diversity (variety)
antibiotic — a substance that fights bacterial life
anti- (against) + bio (life) + -tic (relating to)
symbiosis — a close, mutually dependent relationship between living things
sym- (together) + bio (life) + -sis (state of)

dubious — from Latin dubius 'doubtful, wavering between two'; the letters 'bio' are coincidental, not the Greek root for 'life'