exogenous

[ek-soj-uh-nuh s]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR exogenous ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

originating from outside; derived externally.

Botany.

(of plants, as the dicotyledons) having stems that grow by the addition of an annual layer of wood to the outside beneath the bark.
pertaining to plants having such stems.
belonging to the exogens.

Pathology. (of a disease) externally caused rather than resulting from conditions within the organism.

Biochemistry. of or noting the metabolic assimilation of proteins or other metabolites, the elimination of nitrogenous catabolites being in direct proportion to the amount of metabolites taken in.

Geology. exogenetic(def 1).

Also exogenetic (for defs 2–4).

Origin of exogenous

First recorded in 1820–30; exo- + -gen + -ous

Related formsex·og·e·nism, nounex·og·e·nous·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for exogenous

external, extrinsic, foreign, alien, estranged, remote, strange, unfamiliar, exotic

Examples from the Web for exogenous

Contemporary Examples of exogenous

Yes, the record of the 2000s looks better if you treat the bust as some kind of exogenous event caused by overbearing government.
David's Book Club: Unintended Consequences
David Frum
July 3, 2012
But in that case, you also have to treat the real-estate bubble as an exogenous event.
David's Book Club: Unintended Consequences
David Frum
July 3, 2012

Historical Examples of exogenous

The exogenous and endogenous hydatids may coexist in the same bearer.
Parasites
T. Spencer Cobbold
In botany, the white and softer parts of the wood of exogenous plants, lying between the inner bark and the heartwood.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I
Arnold Cooley
We have in the botanical world the exogenous and the endogenous tree.
The Palm Tree Blessing
W. E. Shepard
Most of the trees with which we have to do are of the exogenous type.
The Palm Tree Blessing
W. E. Shepard
This is exogenous growth, or outside-growing, as the name denotes.
The Elements of Botany
Asa Gray

British Dictionary definitions for exogenous

exogenous

adjective

having an external origin

biology

developing or originating outside an organism or part of an organism
of or relating to external factors, such as light, that influence an organism

psychiatry (of a mental illness) caused by external factors

Derived Formsexogenously, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for exogenous

adj.

1830, from Modern Latin exogenus (on model of indigenus); see exo- + -genous.

exogenous in Medicine