Etymology of the French word microbe
the French word
microbeusing the French prefix
micro-derived from the New Latin prefix
micro-derived from the Greek word
mikros, μικρός (small; small (in size, quantity, number or dignity))
derived from the Greek word
mikros, μικρός (small; small (in size, quantity, number or dignity))
derived from the Late Greek word
bios, βίος (life; life; the present state of existence; by implication, the means of livelihood)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*gʷei- (to live)
Date
The earliest known usage of microbe in French dates from the 19th century.
Derivations in French
microbien,
microbiologie,
microbicide,
microbisme,
microbiurgieDerivations in other languages
English
microbe, Romanian
microbCognates
Dutch
microbe, English
microbe, German
Mikrobe, Norwegian
mikrobe, Swedish
mikrob
