Prefixes, Suffixes, and Stems
The following list gives the meanings of prefixes, suffixes, and stems that
are commonly used to form scientific terms. Whenever you encounter a new
term in your study of biology or any science, break it apart and try to find the
parts in this list. Such a habit will greatly simplify your mastery of scientific
vocabulary.
As an example, you might take the word nephrology. The stem nephro- is
derived from the Greek word nephros, meaning kidney, while the stem log-is
derived from the Greek word logos, meaning thought or study of. You might
later encounter the word nephrolith, and you would then only have to determine
the meaning of the suffix –lith, since you would already know the meaning of the
first part of the word. After some practice, you will be surprised how many new
words you can define without looking them up.
You should also be aware that is has often been necessary to add a vowel
when combining word parts for a more pleasing pronunciation. For example,
bacteri- + -logy becomes bacteriology. For the same reason it has been necessary
at times to drop or change a vowel in a prefix, suffix, or stem. For example,
gastro becomes gastric, the adjective pertaining to the stomach.
Most scientific terms are derived from either the ancient Greek or the Latin
because neither of these languages is currently in use and they are universally
studied. Learning the meaning of the following word elements will help develop
your biological vocabulary.
Vocabulary Development Quizzes:
See your course syllabus for the schedule of quiz dates. Dates are subject
to change if necessary…pay attention to updates in class.
Know meanings of all terms VERY well! You will be asked to decipher the
meanings of new scientific terms that incorporate these word elements.
Each quiz will focus on a particular portion of the list, but will also include
word elements from previous quizzes…therefore; you will need to
continuously review past material.
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Scientific Root Words, Prefixes, and Suffixes
a-, an- not, without, lacking centi- hudredth eu- well, good, true, normal
ab- away from, out from centr- center eury- widen
-able capable of cephal- head ex- out of, away from
ac- to, toward cerat- horn extra- beyond, outside
-aceous of or pertaining to cerebr- brain -fer- bear, carry, produce
acou-, acous- hear cervic- neck ferro- iron
acr-, acro- height chel- claw fibr- fiber, thread
ad- to, toward chem- dealing with chemicals -fid, fiss- split, divided into
aden- gland chir- hand -flect, -flex bend
adip- fat chlor- green flor- flower
aero- air chondr- cartilage flu-,fluct-,flux flow
agri- field, soil chrom-, -chrome color foli- leaf
-al having the character of chron- time fract- break
alb- white -chym- juice -gam- marriage
alg-, -algia pain -cid-, -cis- cut, kill, fall gastr- stomach
alto- high circa-, circum- around, about geo- land, earth
ambi- both cirru- hairlike curls -gen, -gine producer, former
ameb- change, alternation co- with, together -gene- origin, birth
amni- fetal membrane cocc- seed, berry -gest- carry, produce, bear
amphi-, ampho- both coel- hollow -glen- eyeball
amyl- starch coll- glue -glob- ball, round
ana- up, back, again coni- cone gloss- tongue
andro- man, masculine contra- against gluc-, glyc- sweet, sugar
anemo- wind corp- body glut- buttock
ang- choke, feel pain cort-, cortic- outer layer gnath- jaw
angi- blood, vessel, duct cosmo- world, order, form -gon angle, corner
ante- before, ahead of time cotyl- cup -grad- step
anter- front counter- against -gram, graph record, writing
antho- flower crani- skull grav- heavy
anti- against, opposite cresc-, cret- begin to grow -gross- thick
anthropo- man, human crypt- hidden, covered gymno- naked, bare
-ap-, -aph- touch -cul-, -cule small, diminutive gyn- female
apo-, ap- away from cumul- heaped gyr- ring, circle, spiral
aqu- water cuti- skin -hal-, -hale breathe, breath
archaeo- primitive, ancient cyan- blue halo- salt
-ary, -arium denotes a place for -cycle, cycl- ring, circle hapl- simple
something -cyst- sac, pouch, bladder hector- hundred
arteri- artery cyt-, -cyte cell, hollow container -helminth- worm
arthr- joint, articulation dactyl- finger hem- blood
-ase forms names of enzymes de- away from, down hemi- half
aster-, astr- star deca- ten hepar-, hepat- liver
-ate verb form – the act of deci- tenth herb- grass, plants
anther- fatty deposit deliquesc- become fluid hetero- different, other
-ation noun form – the act of demi- half hex- six
atmo- vapor dendr- tree hibern- winter
audi- hear dent- tooth hidr- sweat
aur- ear derm- skin hipp- horse
auto- self di-, dipl- (Latin) two, double hist- tissue
bacter-, bactr- bacterium, stick, club di-, dia- (Greek) through, across, apart holo- entire, whole
barb- beard dia- (Latin) day homo- (Latin) man, human
baro- weight digit- finger, toe homo- (Greek) same, alike
bath- depth, height din- terrible hort- garden
bene- well, good dis- apart, out hydr- water
bi- (Latin) two twice dorm- sleep hygr- moist, wet
bi-, bio- (Greek) life, living dors- back hyper- above, beyond over
-blast- sprout, germ, bud du-, duo- two hyph- weaving, web
brachi- arm -duct lead hyphno- sleep
brachy- short dynam- power hypo- below, under, less
brady- slow dys- bad, abnormal, difficult hyster- womb, uterus
branchi- fin ec- out of, away from -iae person afflicted with
brev- short echin- spiny, prickly disease
bronch- windpipe eco- house -iasis disease, abnormal condition
cac-. bad ecto- outside of -ic (adjective former)
calor- heat -elle small -chthy- fish
capill- hair -emia blood ign- fire
capit- head en-, endo-, ent- in, into, within in-, il-, im-, ir- not
carcin- cancer -en made of in-, il-, im-, ir- to, toward, into
cardi- heart encephal- brain in- very, thoroughly
carn- meat, flesh enter- intestine, gut -ine of or pertaining to
carp- fruit entom- insects infra- below, beneath
carpal- wrist -eous nature of, like inter- within, inside
cata- breakdown, downward epi- upon, above, over intra- between
caud- tail -err- wander, go astray -ism a state or condition
-cell- chamber, small room erythro- red iso- equal, same
cen-, cene- now, recent -escent becoming -ist person who deals with
cente- pierce eso- inward, within, inner -it is inflammation, disease
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-ium refers to a part of the body -osis abnormal condition solv- loosen, free
-kary- cell nucleus oste- bone som-, somat-, -some body
kel- tumor, swelling oto- ear somn- sleep
kerat- horn -ous full of son- sound
kilo- thousand ov- egg spec-, spic- look at
kine- move oxy- sharp, acid, oxygen -sperm- seed
lachry- tear pachy- thick -spher- ball, round
lact- milk paleo- old, ancient spir-, -spire breathe
lat- side palm- broad, flat -spor- seed
leio- smooth pan- all stat-, -stasis standing, placed, staying
-less without par-, para- beside, near, equal stell- stars
leuc-, leuk- white, bright, light path-, -pathy disease, suffering sten- narrow
lign- wood -ped- foot stern- chest, breast
lin- line -ped- child stom-, -stome mouth
lingu- tongue pent- five strat- divide, arrange
lip- fat per- through stereo- solid, 3-dimensional
lith-, -lite stone, petrifying peri- around strict- drawn tight
loc- place permea- pas, go styl- pillar
-log- word, speech phag- eat sub- under, below
-logist one who studies pheno- show super-, sur- over, above, on top
-logy study of -phil- loving, fond of sym-, syn- together
lumin- light phon-, -phone sound tachy- quick, swift
-lys, -lyt, -lyst decompose, split, dissolve -phore,, pher- bear, carry tarso- ankle
macr- large photo- light tax- arrange, put in order
malac- soft phren- mind, diaphragm tele- far off, distant
malle- hammer phyc- seaweed, algae telo- end
mamm- breast phyl- related group terr- earth, land
marg- border, edge -phyll leaf tetr- four
mast- breast physic- nature, natural qualities thall- young shoot
med- middle phyt-, phyte platn -the-, -thes- put
meg- million, great pino- drink -thel- cover a surface
mela-, melan- black, dark pinni- feather therm- heat
-mer part plan- roaming, wandering -tom- cut, slice
mes- middle, half, intermediate plasm-, -plast- form, formed into toxico- poison
met-, meta- between, along, after platy- flat top- place
-meter, -metry measurement pleur- lung, rib, side trache- windpipe
micro- small, millionth pneumo- lungs, air trans- across
milli- thousandth -pod foot tri- three
mis- wrong, incorrect ply- many, several trich- hair
mito- thread por- opening -trop- turn, change
mole- mass port- carry -troph- nourishment, one who feels
mono- one, single post- after, behind turb- whirl
mort- death pom fruit -ul-, -ule diminutive, small
mot- move pre- before, ahead of time ultra- beyond
morph- shape, form prim- first uni- one
multi- many pro- forward, favoring, before ur- urine
mut- change p[roto- first, primary -ura tail
my- muscle pseudo- false, deceptive vas- vessel
myc- fungus psych mind vect- carry
mycel- threadlike pter- having wings or fins ven-, vent- come
myriad- many pulmo- lung ventr- belly, underside
moll- soft puls- drive, push -verge turn, slant
nas- nose pyr- heat, fire vig- strong
necr- corpse, dead quadr- four vit-, viv- life
nemat- thread quin- five volv- roll, wander
neo- new, recent radi- ray -vor- devour, eat
neprho- kidney re- again, back xanth- yellow
-ner- moist, liquid rect- right, correct xero- dry
neur- nerve ren- kidney xyl- wood
noct-, nov- night ret- net, made like a net zo-, -zoa animal
-node knot rhag-, -rrhage burst forth zyg- joined together
-nom-, -nomy ordered knowledge, law rhe-, rrhea flow zym- yeast
non- not rhin- nose
not- back rhiz- root
nuc- center rhodo- rose
ob- against roto- wheel
ocul- eye rubr- red
oct- eight sacchar- sugar
odont- tooth sapr- rotten
-ond form, appearance sarc- flesh
olf- smell saur- lizard
oligo- few, little schis-, schiz- split, divide
-oma abnormal condition, tumor sci- know
omni- all scler- hard
onc- mass, tumor -scop- look, device for seeing
oo- egg -scribe, -script write
opthalm- eye semi- half, partly
opt- eye sept- partition, seven
orb- circle, round, ring -septic infection, putrefaction
-orium, -ory place for something sess- sit
ornith- bird sex- six
orth- straight, correct, right -sis condition, state
oscu- mouth sol- sun
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