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zoogenic

/ˌzoʊəˈdʒɛnɪk/
IPA guide

Something caused by or derived from animals is zoogenic. For example, wool is a zoogenic material because it is made from sheep's fleece, unlike cotton, which comes from plants.

Zoo- comes from an ancient Greek word meaning "animal," similar to how a zoo is a place that contains animals. The word ending -genic has several meanings, but here it means "relating to or coming from." If you had some small hills spring up overnight in your backyard, you might assume they were made by the wind, but then find out they were zoogenic because they were actually caused by gophers.

Definitions of zoogenic
  1. adjective
    coming from animals or made by animals
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