cryptobiotic, a.
(ˌkrɪptəʊbaɪˈɒtɪk)
[ad. G. kryptobiotisch (O. Kuntze Phytogeogenesis (1884) iii. 40), f. crypto- + Gr. βιωτικ-ός pertaining to life.]
a. (See quot. 1916.) b. = cryptozoic a. 1. c. Of or pertaining to cryptobiosis.
| 1916 B. D. Jackson Gloss. Bot. Terms (ed. 3) 97/2 Cryptobiotic, Kuntze's suggested expression for those lowly organisms which appeared in geologic times, but have left no trace of their existence. 1934 S. F. Light in C. A. Kofoid Termites iii. 23 Associated with the wood-eating habit of the termites is their cryptobiotic mode of life. They live shut off from the light in enclosed passageways. 1948 T. E. Snyder Our Enemy the Termite (ed. 2) 240 Cryptobiotic, living a ‘hidden life’, a term applied to insects, such as termites, living a life where they are concealed in wood, underground, etc. 1965 New Scientist 28 Oct. 270/2 Some further properties of the cryptobiotic state. |