axenic

adjective

axe·​nic (ˌ)ā-ˈze-nik  -ˈzē- 

: free from other living organisms

axenically

(ˌ)ā-ˈze-ni-k(ə-)lē 

-ˈzē-

adverb

Examples of axenic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Inoculation of axenic cockroaches with individual bacterial taxa significantly rescued the aggregation response to the fecal extract, and inoculation with a mix of six bacterial isolates was more effective than with single isolates. —Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 17 Dec. 2015

Olfactory and aggregation bioassays demonstrated that nymphs strongly preferred the extract of control feces over the fecal extract of axenic cockroaches. —Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 17 Dec. 2015

Word History

Etymology

Greek a- a- entry 2 + xénos "foreigner, guest" + -ic entry 1 — more at xeno-

Note: The term was introduced by the American biologist James A. Baker (1910-75) and his Rockefeller Institute co-worker M. S. Ferguson in the article "Growth of Platyfish (Platypoecilus maculatus) Free from Bacteria and Other Microörganisms," Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, vol. 51 (October, 1942), pp. 116-19. The authors thus etymologize the word in a footnote: "Axenic is derived from two Greek words: A—meaning without or free from, and Xenos—denoting a stranger or foreign life. An axenic organism, as here defined, is a species free from any life apart from that produced by its own protoplasm …The writers are greatly indebted to Professor A. C. Johnson, Department of Classics, Princeton University, for suggesting and defining the term axenic."

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

axenic

adjective

axe·​nic (ˈ)ā-ˈzen-ik  -ˈzēn- 

: free from other living organisms

an axenic culture of bacteria

axenically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb