Biologically

How to spell biologically

12 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce biologically

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does biologically mean?

1. adverbIn a way relating to biology or the natural processes of living organisms.

Biologically in a sentence

• The two species are biologically very closely related.

• Biologically speaking, the human body needs sleep to repair itself.

Where does biologically come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This adverb traces back to two Greek roots: bios, meaning 'life', and logos, meaning 'word', 'account', or 'study'. The combining form was assembled into the noun 'biology' around 1800, when German and French scientists (and shortly afterwards English ones) needed a single name for the new science of living things; it described, quite literally, the 'study of life'. From 'biology' came the adjective 'biological', and the adverb 'biologically' was layered on top with the familiar -ly ending. The same bios root sits inside 'biography' (the writing of a life) and 'antibiotic' (working against life), while the logos root powers a whole family of sciences ending in -ology. The long stack of suffixes, ic plus al plus ly, is the spelling trap here, because all three quiet, unstressed syllables blur together in speech.

How the word is built

• bio- (Greek bios, life)
• log (Greek logos, study or account)
• -ic (adjective)
• -al (adjective)
• -ly (adverb)