chemoautotrophic
adjective
che·mo·au·to·tro·phic ˌkē-mō-ˌȯ-tə-ˈtrō-fik 
also ˌke-
: being autotrophic and oxidizing an inorganic compound as a source of energy
chemoautotrophic bacteria
chemoautotrophy
ˌkē-mō-ȯ-ˈtä-trə-fē
noun also ˌke-
Word History
Etymology
chemo- + autotrophic
Note: The word is presumably based on German Chemoautotrophie, whence chemoautotrophy, attested later than chemoautotrophic. The German noun was apparently introduced by the biochemist Hans Pringsheim (1876-1940) in "Neues über Purpurbakterien," Naturwissenschaften, Band 20 (1932), p. 479.
First Known Use
1936, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
chemoautotrophic
adjective
che·mo·au·to·tro·phic -ˌȯt-ə-ˈtrō-fik
: being autotrophic and oxidizing some inorganic compound as a source of energy
chemoautotrophic bacteria