Zoon
/zoʊˈɒn/noun
A living being or animal; used in biology and philosophy, especially in compounds like zootic and protozoon.
Did you know?Zōon is the Greek word for a living creature, and it sits at the root of modern terms like zoology and zodiac because the ancient sky was imagined as a circle of living signs.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gʷeyh₃-
“to live”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ζῷον (zōion)
“a living being, animal”
Classical Greek
Greek
ζῷον
“an animal; a living creature”
Late Latin
Latin
zoon
“a living creature, animal (borrowed from Greek)”
Modern English
English
zoon
“a living being; especially a protozoan or zoological organism”