‘Ome,’ the Sound of the Scientific Universe Expanding

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/04/science/it-started-with-genome-omes-proliferate-in-science.html

The word “genome” was first used in 1920, by Hans Winkler, a German scientist, to mean all the material on the chromosomes in a sperm or egg, but did not become really popular until the end of the last century, when genome mapping began. Various experts had differing ideas on where the suffix came from, but it seems to be one that was made up. In any case, it clearly meant the totality of something. Dr. Lederberg, who coined a few scientific terms himself, contributed “microbiome” — all the microbes that live in and on humans — to the growing trend.