English Lexicon

Biological diversity

/ˌbaɪ.əˈlɒdʒ.ɪ.kəl daɪˈvɜː.sə.ti/
nounCEFR C1 (Advanced)Top #4500 frequency
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Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    The variety of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat, a high level of which is usually considered to be important and desirable.

    "Deforestation poses a severe threat to the biological diversity of the Amazon rainforest."
  2. 2

    The variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part.

    "International agreements aim to protect biological diversity across both land and oceanic domains."

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Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

The term is a combination of 'biological', derived from the Greek 'bios' (life) and 'logia' (study of), and 'diversity', originating from the Latin 'diversitas' (difference, variety). The precise compound 'biological diversity' gained widespread scientific prominence in the late 20th century, eventually being popularized as 'biodiversity' during environmental summits in the 1980s and 1990s.

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