endosymbiosis

[ en-doh-sim-bee-oh-sis, -bahy- ]

noun

, Biology.

1. symbiosis in which one symbiont lives within the body of the other.

endosymbiosis

/ ˌɛndəʊˌsɪmbɪˈəʊsɪs /

noun

1. a type of symbiosis in which one organism lives inside the other, the two typically behaving as a single organism. It is believed to be the means by which such organelles as mitochondria and chloroplasts arose within eukaryotic cells

Derived Forms

• ˌendoˌsymbiˈotic, adjective

Other Words From

• en·do·sym·bi·ot·ic [en-doh-sim-bee-, ot, -ik, -bahy-], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of endosymbiosis¹

First recorded in 1935–40; endo- + symbiosis