allotroph

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English

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Etymology

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From allo- +‎ -troph.

Noun

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allotroph (plural allotrophs)

  1. (rare) Synonym of heterotroph
    • 1968, M. S. Mani, Ecology and Biogeography of High Altitude Insects, →ISBN, page 406:
      The ecosystems of the extra-polar high mountains are described as anabolic-allotroph systems, but those of the Antarctic mountains are katabolic autotoph[sic – meaning autotroph] systems.
    • 1970, Stephen H. Dole, Habitable Planets for Man, page 142:
      A living thing using only inorganic materials as food, as opposed to heterotrophs, allotrophs, parasites, or saprophytes, which depend on other organisms for nutrition.
    • 1974, Roger Pearson, Introduction to Anthropology, page 39:
      [We see the] plants as synthesizing autotrophs, extracting energy from light and storing it in organic form, and the animals as predatory allotrophs, consuming organic material in order to secure energy, []
    • 1978, Israel Journal of Entomology, volumes 12-14, page 138:
      It is possible that at a young age these secondary host plants (allotrophs) have a similar chemistry to that of the primary hosts that is also attractant and palatable for the beetles. It is also possible that the allotrophs are actually phytochemically []

Usage notes

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  • Allotrophe is rare; indeed, it occurs as a misspelling of allotrope (even in college-level reference works)[1] almost as often as it occurs as asynonym of heterotroph.

Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ For example, Barron's how to prepare for the college-level examination program (CLEP), general examinations (1990), page 488: Chemical elements often exist in different forms and these are called allotrophs.