phototaxis

Or pho·to·tax·y

[foh-tuh-tak-sis]

noun

Biology.

1. movement of an organism toward or away from a source of light.

phototaxis

/ ˌfəʊtəʊˈtæksɪs, ˌfəʊtəʊˈtæktɪk /

noun

1. the movement of an entire organism in response to light

Other Word Forms

• phototactic adjective
• phototactically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of phototaxis¹

First recorded in 1900–05; photo- + -taxis