Word of the Day

: December 31, 2009

homogeneous

adjective hoh-muh-JEEN-yus

What It Means

1 : of the same or a similar kind or nature

2 : of uniform structure or composition throughout

homogeneous in Context

"In my opinion the solar system is a solid homogeneous body; the planets which compose it are in actual contact with each other." (Jules Verne, From the Earth to the Moon)

Did You Know?

The scientific theories of Jules Verne's bold French adventurer, Michel Ardan, might have been a bit flawed (it's more accurate to classify the solar system as "heterogenous" -- that is, consisting of dissimilar ingredients or constituents), but his use of the English word "homogeneous" was perfectly correct. "Homogeneous," which derives from the Greek roots "homos," meaning "same," and "genos," meaning "kind," has been used in English since the mid-1600s. The similar word "homogenous" (originally created for the science of genetics and used with the meaning "of, relating to, or derived from another individual of the same species") can also be a synonym of "homogeneous." The words need not be used exclusively in scientific contexts -- one can speak of, for example, "a homogenous/homogeneous community."