English

Adjective

abiogenic ‎(comparative more abiogenic, superlative most abiogenic)

1. Not produced or derived by means of living organisms or their processes. [Late 19^th century.]^[1]

Usage notes

• This term is intended to include materials derived from petroleum, coal, or sediments such as limestone. Although these materials derive from biological sources and have biochemical content, the chemical processes that produce these materials from dead organisms are purely physical. The role of man, also a living organism, is not counted, since the chemical processes used by man are external chemical reactions and not internal biochemical reactions.

Translations

References

1. ↑ Lesley Brown (editor), The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition (Oxford University Press, 2003 [1933], ISBN 978-0-19-860575-7), page 4