biosignature

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃-der.

Ancient Greek βῐ́ος (bĭ́os)

Ancient Greek βῐο- (bĭo-)der.

English bio-

English signature

English biosignature

From bio- + signature.

Pronunciation

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Noun

biosignature (plural biosignatures)

1. (biology, especially astrobiology) Any measurable phenomenon that indicates the presence or probable presence of life.

   Hypernyms: signature, sign

   Coordinate term: technosignature

   • 2025 April 17, Iain Todd, “Astronomers have found the ‘most promising signs yet’ of alien life on a planet beyond our Solar System”, in BBC Sky at Night Magazine‎^[1]:

     The team say dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide are molecules from the same chemical family, and could be ‘biosignatures’.

See also

• biochemical
• bioindicator
• biomarker
• biomolecule