Standard Lemma guide

phytochemical

adj · noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

adj

Meaning 1

Pertaining to the chemistry of plants.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Any chemical substance characteristic of plants.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Any chemical or nutrient derived from a plant source; a phytonutrient.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

a chemical substance obtained from plants that is biologically active but not nutritive

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: chemical, chemical substance

Narrower terms: carotenoid, flavonoid

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bhuH- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *bhuHyéti Ancient Greek φύω (phúō) Ancient Greek φῠτόν (phŭtón)der. English phyto- Proto-Indo-European *ǵhew- Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Ancient Greek -μᾰ (-mă) Ancient Greek χῠ́μᾰ (khŭ́mă) Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh2 Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ία (-ía) Ancient Greek χυμείᾱ (khumeíā)bor. Arabic الْكِيمِيَاء (al-kīmiyāʔ)bor. Medieval Latin alchēmia ▲ Ancient Greek χυμείᾱ (khumeíā)influ. New Latin chēmia Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icus New Latin chēmicus English -al English chemical English phytochemical From phyto- + chemical.

Across languages

Translations

3 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Polish: fitochemiczny — pertraining to chemistry of plants
  • Russian: фитохимический (fitoximičeskij) — pertraining to chemistry of plants
  • Spanish: fitoquímico — any chemical substance characteristic of plants