Prefixes & Suffixes
The following list is by no means complete, but it may help in understanding some difficult terminology. The following abbreviations are used ; Gr., for the Greek ; L., for the Latin.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| ad- | (L., toward, upon, or equal), adrenal , relating to the kidney; adduct, to draw one part towards another. |
| actin-actino | (Gr., ktis-ray) |
| acr, acri-, acis | (Gr-akris) Outermost top, point, tip |
| ab- | (L., away from or without), aboral, away from the mouth |
| a-or an- | (Gr., without or absent), asexual, without sex anaerobe organism that lives without free oxygen. |
| -ur | (Gr., tail, Anura , animals without tails. |
| -tome | (Gr., to cut), microtome , instrument to cut small sections. |
| -thec | (Gr., case), spermatheca , sperm-case. |
| -semi- | (L., half), semicircle , half of a circle. |
| -see! | (I. ., to cut), dissect , to cut. |
| -scope | (Or., see) microscope , instrument enabling one to see minute ‘objects. |
| -sare | (Or., flesh), ectosarc , outer flesh or layer of protoplasm. |
| -ptero | (Or., wing), Diptera , order of insect with two wings. |
| -porous | (Or., foot), octopus , animal with eight feet or appendages. |
| -pkism | (Or., formed), ectoplasm , outer region of the cell cytoplasm. |