word
Ecosystem
The interlocking environment of any community โ biological, industrial, or cultural.
Origin
Coined by the British ecologist Arthur Tansley in 1935 to name the system of organisms and their environment treated together. The business and tech worlds adopted it in the 2000s โ the 'iOS ecosystem', the 'startup ecosystem' โ to describe networks of products, partners, and users that depend on each other.
Modern usage
Standard in tech, music, and policy writing. Mocked when overused ('thought leadership ecosystem') but no shorter alternative has displaced it.
Tags
systems
biology
tech