Mycorrhiza
/ˌmaɪ.kəˈraɪ.zə/noun
A symbiotic association between a fungus and the roots of a plant.
Did you know?The term was coined in 1885 by German botanist Albert Bernhard Frank to describe the intimate root-fungus partnership that lets many plants survive by trading sugars for nutrients.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*meu-
“to be wet, slimy”
Ancient Greek
Greek
μύκης (mýkēs)
“fungus, mushroom”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ῥίζα (rhíza)
“root”
1885
German
Mykorrhiza
“a fungal association with plant roots”
Modern English
English
mycorrhiza
“a fungus-root symbiosis”