Bionics
/baɪˈɒnɪks/noun
The application of biological principles and systems to the design of engineering and technology.
Did you know?The word was coined in the 1950s by combining biology with the productive -ics ending, but its core comes from Greek bios, “life,” the same root behind words like biology and biopsy.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
bíos
“life”
Late 19th Century
English
biology
“the study of life”
1950s
English
bionics
“a field applying biological principles to engineering”
Modern English
English
bionics
“the use of living systems or biological principles in technology”