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biomass

noun
/ˈbaɪə(ʊ)mæs/UK/ˈbaɪoʊˌmæs/US

Etymology

From bio- (prefix denoting organic life) + mass (“matter, material”).

  1. derived from *maǵ-✻ — “to oil, knead”
  2. derived from μᾶζα — “barley-cake, lump (of dough)”
  3. derived from massa
  4. derived from masse
  5. prefixed as biomass — “bio + mass”

Definitions

  1. The total mass of a living thing or a part thereof (such as a cell).

    • Since protein constitutes the majority of the biomass of a cell, building new protein is a major way that cells increase their size.

  2. The total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area,…

    The total mass of all, or a specified category of, living things within a specific area, habitat, etc.

    • In the untouched Shangri-la-like Kingman Reef in the Line Islands in the central Pacific, sharks make up 75 per cent of the fish biomass.

  3. Organic matter from living things which were recently alive (especially vegetation) used…

    Organic matter from living things which were recently alive (especially vegetation) used as a fuel or source of energy, especially if cultivated for that purpose; also, fuel produced from such organic matter; biofuel.

    • Among the key contracts she works on is the supply of coal and biomass to Drax power station and extensive rail operations for British Steel.
    • All vegetation and tree stumps were sent to a local recycling facility to be turned into biomass.

The neighborhood

Derived

nonbiomass, photobiomass, phytobiomass, zoobiomass

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for biomass. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA