Greek Latin Derivatives: Prefix and Suffix Starter List

Many of these combining forms may be used as either prefixes or suffixes. Examples are presented to show current usage.

Prefixes	Derived From:	Meaning	Example
a-, ab-	Latin	off, from, down, away	abduct, avert
a-, an-	Greek	not, without, less	abiotic, anaerobic
actin-	G. aktis	a ray, beam, spoke	actinomycete
ad-	Latin	to, attached to,	adsorption
aer-	Greek	air	aerobic
amphi-	Greek	both, about, around	amphibian
ana-	Latin	away, through, again	analysis
andro-	Greek	man, male	androgens
angio-	Greek	a vessel, closed container	angiospermae
anthropo-	Greek	referring to man	anthropology
ant-, anti-	Greek	against, away, opposite	antibiosis
ante-	Latin	before	anteroom
ap-, aph-, apo-	Latin	from, off, separate	apogee
aqua-	Latin	water	aquatic
arche-, archeo-	Greek	ancient, primitive	archeology
arthri-, arthro-	G. arthron	joint, jointed	arthritis
asco-	G. askos	bag, sack, bladder	ascospore
aureo-	L. aureus	gold colored	aureomycin
auto-	G. autos	self	autoimmune
bi-	Latin	two, twice, double	bipolar, binocular
bio-, bios-	Greek	related to life	biology, biocidal
blasto-	G. blastos	an embryonic layer or cell	blastomere
brachy-	Greek	short	brachycephalic
brad-, brady-	Greek	slow, slowness	bradycardia
bry-, bryo-	G. bryon	moss, mossy	bryophyte
calic-, calix-	Latin	cuplike	calyx
cani-, canis-	Latin	dog	canine
cardia-	G. kardia	heart	cardiac
carn-	L. carnis	flesh	carnivore
carp-	L. carpalis	wrist, bones	carpel
cata-	Greek	decomposition, degradation	catabolism
cell-	L. cella	small room	cellular
cephal-	Latin	head	cephalic
chloro-	G. chloros	green, containing chloride	chlorophyll
chroma-, chromo-	Greek	colored	chromosome
chron-, chrono-	G. chronos	time	chronometer
circum-	Latin	around, near, about	circumnavigate
coel-	G. koilos	hollow cavity, belly	coelom
col-, com-, con-	Latin	with, together	combine, collide
contra-	Latin	against	contradict
crypto-	G. kryptos	hidden	cryptogamic
cyano-	G. kyanos	dark blue, blue-green	cyanobacteria
cyst-	G. kystis	bladder	cystitis
cyt-,cyte-,cyto-	G. kytos	cell, a hollow vessel	cytology
de-	Latin	undoing, removal of, from	dehydration
den-, dent-	L. dens	tooth	dentition
dendro-	Greek	tree	dendrochronology
derm-, derma-	Greek	skin, hide	dermatitis
deut-, deutero-	Greek	second, secondary	deuterium
di-	Greek	double, twice, two	disaccharide
dia-	Greek	through, across	diameter
diplo-	Greek	twofold, double	diploid
dis-	Latin	apart, away	dissolve
dorm-	Latin	to sleep	dormant, dormitory
drom-, drome-	Greek	a running, racing	dromendary
e-, ec-	Latin	out, out of	efferent
eco-	G. oikos	house, environment	ecology
ecto-	G. ektos	outside	ectoderm
en-, endo-	G. endon	within, internal	endoskeleton
entero-	G. enteron	intestine	enterocolitis
entomo-	G. entoma	insect	entomology
eo-, eos-	Greek	the dawn	Eocene, Eohippus
epi-	Greek	upon, above, top	epidermis
erythro-	Greek	red	erythrocyte
eu-	Greek	proper, true, good	eucaryotic
ex-	Latin	out, from	excise
exo-	Greek	outer, external	exoskeleton
extra-	L. exter	outside of, beyond	extracellular
flagell-	L. flagrum	whip, whiplike	flagellum
fuc-, fuco-	G. phyktos	seaweed, algae, lichen	fucoxanthin
gamo-	G. gamos	sexual union	gamogenesis
gastero-,gastro-	G. gaster	stomach, belly	gastroenteritis
geno-	L.gene	origin, development	genotype
ge-, geo-	Greek	earth	geology
glu-, glyco-	Greek	sweet, sugar	glucose, glycogen
gon-,goni-,gono-	Greek	reproductive, sexual	gonorrhea
gymn-, gymno-	G. gymnos	naked, bare	gymnosperm
gyn-,gyne-,gyno-	Greek	woman, female	gynecology
halo-	G. hals	salt	halophile
haplo-	G. haploos	single	haploid
heme-, hemo-	G. haimo	blood	hemotologist
hemi-	Greek	half	hemisphere
hepta-	Greek	seven	heptane
herb-	L. herba	pertaining to plants	herbicide
hetero-	Greek	different, other, unlike	heterozygous
hex-, hexa-	Greek	six	hexagonal
hipp-, hippo-	G. hippos	horse	hippodrome
histo-	G. histos	tissue	histology
holo-	G. holos	whole, entire	holoblastic
homeo, homo-	Greek	same, similar, like	homogeneous
hyal-, hyalo-	G. hyalos	glassy, transparent	hyaloid
hydr-, hydro-	Greek	pertaining to water	hydrolysis
hyper-	Greek	above, more, over	hyperactive
hypo-	Greek	below, less, under	hypodermic
ichthy-,ichthyo-	Greek	referring to fish	ichthyology
inter-	Latin	between	intercellular
intra-	Latin	within, inside	intracellular
intro-	Latin	inward, within	introvert
iso-	Greek	equal, same	isotonic
kine-	Greek	movement, moving	kinetics
leuc-, leuk-	Greek	white	leucocyte
lycan-	G. lykos	wolf	lycanthropy
macro-	Greek	large, big, long	macromolecule
man-, manu-	Latin	hand	manual
mastig-	G. mastigos	whip	mastigophora
meg-, mega-	Greek	great, large	megabyte
melan-,melano-	Greek	black, dark	melanin
mero-	G. merus	part, piece	meroblast
mes-, meso-	G. mesos	middle, in between	mesoderm
met-, meta-	Greek	later, following, changed in position or form	metamorphosis
micro-	G. mikros	small	microbiology
milli-	Latin	a thousandth part	millimeter
mio-	G. meion	less, smaller	Miocene
mito-	G. mitos	thread	mitosis
mon-, mono-	Greek	one, single	monocular
morph-	Greek	shape, form	morphology
mor-, mort-	Latin	die, death,	mortality
muc-, muco-	Latin	consisting of many units	multicellular
mus-	Latin	mouse, as one running	muscle
myco-, mykos-	Greek	fungus, mushroom	mycology
myo-	G. mys	muscle	myoglobin
myxo-	Greek	slime, mucus	myxomycetes
nemato-	Greek	thread, threadlike	nematode
neuro-	Greek	name	nomenclature
ob-	Latin	against	obtuse
octa-	Greek	eight	octopus
olig-, oligo-	Greek	few, small, less	oligarchy
omni-	Latin	all, everywhere	omnipotent
oo-	Greek	pertaining to an egg	oocyte
ophthalmo-	Greek	referring to the eye	ophthalmologist
opisth-,opistho-	Greek	behind, backwards, back	Opisthobranchia
orni-, ornitho-	Greek	bird	ornithology
orth-, ortho-	Greek	straight	orthodontist
osteo-	Greek	bone	osteocyte
oto-	Greek	referring to the ear	otology
ova-,ovi-,ovul-	Latin	egg	ovary, oviduct
paleo-	Greek	old, ancient	paleontology
para-	Greek	beside, near, beyond	parasitism
path-, patho-	Greek	disease, suffer	pathogenic
ped-, pedi-	Latin	foot	pedicure
penna-, pinna-	Latin	feather, feathery	pinnate
pent-, penta-	Greek	five	pentagon
per-	Latin	through	pervade, peruse
peri-	Greek	around, surrounding	perimeter
pher-	Greek	bearing, carrying, support	pheromone
phil- philo-	Greek	loving, attracted to	philanthropy
phob-	Greek	fear, fearing	phobic
photo-	Greek	pertaining to light	photosynthesis
phyco-	Greek	seaweed, algae	phycology
phylo-	Greek	tribe, race, related group	phylogeny
phyto-	Greek	pertaining to plants	phytohormone
plasm-, plasma-	Greek	formative substance	plasmablasts
plati-, platy-	Greek	flat	platypus
pleio- pleo-	Greek	more, many	pleiomorphic
pod-,poda-,podi-	Greek	foot	podiatrist
poly-	Greek	many	polyhedron
post-	Latin	after	postnatal
pre-	Latin	before	prenatal
preter-	Latin	beyond	preterhuman
prim-	Latin	first	primary
pro-	Greek	before, on behalf of	proboscis
pro-	Latin	forward	progressive
proto-	Greek	first, primary	protozoa
pseudo-	Greek	false	pseudopod
psilo-	Greek	bare, mere	psilopsida
pteri-, ptero-	Greek	fern, feather	pteridophyte
quadr-, quadri-	Latin	four	quadruped
radi-	Latin	ray, spoke of wheel	radial
re-	Latin	back, again	repeat
retro-	Latin	backward	retroactive
rhiz-, rhizo-	Greek	pertaining to roots	rhizoids
rhod-, rhodo-	Greek	a rose, red	rhodopsin
rota-	Latin	wheel	rotate
sapr-, sapro-	Greek	rotten, putrid, dead	saprobe
sarc-, sarco-	Greek	flesh, fleshy	sarcoma
schiz-, schizo-	Greek	split, splitting	schizocoel
se-	Latin	apart	secede
semi-	Latin	half	semicircle
soma-, somato-	Greek	body	somatic
sperma-,spermato-	Greek	seed	spermatozoa
sporo-	Greek	spore	sporophyte
staphylo-	Greek	bunch of grapes	staphylococcus
stoma-	Greek	mouth	stomate
strepto-	Greek	twisted, string of	streptococcus
sub-	Latin	below, under, smaller	subapical
supra-, super-	Latin	above, over	supernova
sym-, syn-	Greek	together, with	synthesis
taxi-, taxo-	Greek	to make order, arrangement	taxonomy
tel-,tele-,telo-	Greek	distant, end	telophase
terra-, terre-	Latin	land, earth	terrestrial
tetra-	Greek	four	tetrapod
therm-, thermo-	Greek	heat	thermometer
thigmo-	Greek	touch	thigmotaxis
trans-	Latin	across, through, over	transfer
tri-	Latin	three	triangle
tricho-	Greek	hair	trichocyst
triplo-	Latin	triple	triploid
troche-, trocho-	Greek	wheel, hoop	trochophore
tropho-	Greek	nourishment	trophoblast
ultra-	Latin	beyond, exceedingly	ultraconservative
uni-	Latin	consisting of one	unicellular
vice-	Latin	in place of	vice-president
vid-, vis-	Latin	see	vision
xen-, xeno-	Greek	dry, desert	xerophyte
zoo-	Greek	animal, life	zoology
zyg-, zygo-	Greek	to join together	zygote

Suffixes	Derived From:	Meaning	Example
-biosis	Greek	mode of living, way of life	symbiosis
-blast	Greek	formative, embryonic	mesoblast
-chaeta-, -chete	Greek	a bristle	Polychaeta
-chrome	Greek	color	mercurochrome
-cidal, -cide	Latin	killer, a killing	insecticide
-cocci, -coccus	Greek	round, seed, kernel	Streptococcus
-cyst	Greek	pouch, sac	trichocyst
-dactyl	Greek	finger	pentadactyl
-derm, -dermis	Greek	skin, layer	epidermis
-elle, -ule, -la, -le, -let, -ole	Latin	small, diminutive endings	globule, piglet
-emia	Greek	blood disease	anemia
-fer	Latin	bearer, producer, carry	conifer, transfer
-gamous, -gamy	Greek	marriage, sexual fusion	polygamy
-gen, -geny	Greek	origin, production	progeny, hydrogen
-genesis	Latin	origin, development of	embryogenesis
-gony	Latin	something produced	cosmogeny
-graph	Greek	drawing, writing	chromatograph
-hedral, -hedron	Greek	side	polyhedral
-hydrate	Greek	compound formed by union of water with other substance	carbohydrate
-ism	Greek	act, practice or result of	terrorism
-ite	Latin	a division or part	somite
-itis	Greek	inflammation or infection	appendicitis
-jugal, -jugate	Latin	to yoke, join together	conjugate
-logy	G. logos	science or study of	biology
-lysis, -lytic	Greek	loosening, separation, splitting into smaller units	photolysis
-mer, -merous	G. meros	a part, piece	polymer
-meter	G. metron	a measurement	diameter
-morph	Greek	form	endomorph
-mycin	Greek	derived from a fungus	aureomycin
-nomy	Greek	systematized knowledge of	astronomy
-oma	Greek	tumorous	carcinoma
-osis, -otic	Greek	abnormal condition, disease	neurosis
-phage	Greek	eater	bacteriophage
-phase	Greek	a stage or condition	metaphase
-phil, -phile	Greek	fear, fearing	hydrophobia
-phor, -phore	Greek	bearing, carrying, supporting	sporangiophore
-phyll	Greek	leaf	chorophyll
-phyta, -phyte	Greek	plant	epiphyte
-plasm	Greek	formative substance	cytoplasm
-plast	Greek	organized particle, granule	choroplast
-pod, -poda	Greek	foot	arthropod
-some	Greek	body	chromosome
-stasis	Greek	a stationary position	homeostasis
-stat, -static	Greek	stationary, still	hemostat
-stomy	Greek	opening into	colostomy
-therm	Greek	heat	homeotherm
-thes, -thesis	Greek	arrangement, in order	hypothesis
-tom, -tomy	Greek	dividing, surgery	lobotomy
-trope, -tropic	Greek	turning	phototropic
-vor, -vore	L. vorare	feeding	carnivore
-zoa,-zoan,-zoic	Greek	animal, life	protozoa