anthropogenic
/ˌæn θrə pəˈdʒɛn ɪk/
anthropogenic · adj — pertaining to the origin of man (anthropogeny). It carries an Arena rating of 1329, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, anthropogenic ranks #1,194 of 17,176 for Most Incisive Words, #2,522 of 17,171 for Scariest Words, #3,456 of 17,195 for Most Exacting Words, #3,474 of 17,129 for Most Ponderous Words.
anthropogenic is pronounced /ˌæn θrə pəˈdʒɛn ɪk/.
Why “anthropogenic” is a great word
Resulting from or produced by human activities, particularly those that alter the environment. From anthropo- (from Greek anthrōpos, meaning "human being") + -genic (from Greek -genēs, meaning "born of" or "producing"), first attested in the 1880s. Unlike "natural" (which describes the self-regulating world before us) or "biogenic" (which includes the works of all living things), anthropogenic implicates our species alone. It is the chemical signature in the glacial ice-core, the concrete riverbank where there was once a mudflat, and the peculiar silence of a forest where the insects have vanished—a word that carries the weight of a species who learned to shape the world before it learned to imagine the consequences.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From anthropo- + -genic, attested 1889.
adj
- Pertaining to the origin of man (anthropogeny).e.g.“1952 The cosmogonic and anthropogenic myths are of secondary importance in Yahwistic religiosity. (H. H. Gerth & D. A. Martindale (trans.), M. Weber's Ancient Judaism ix. 227)”
- Having its origin in the influence of human activity on nature.e.g.“anthropogenic climate change”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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