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Meaning Origin language and etymology Example(s) -iasis: condition, formation, or presence of Latin -iasis, pathological condition or process; from Greek ἴασις (íasis), cure, repair, mend mydriasis: iatr(o)-of or pertaining to medicine or a physician (uncommon as a prefix but common as a suffix; see -iatry)
Meaning: a prefix used to make words with a sense opposite to that of the root word; in this case, meaning "without" or "-less". This is usually used to describe organisms without a certain characteristic, as well as organisms in which that characteristic may not be immediately obvious.
Word or root Scientific meaning from Latin Example Latin word Latin meaning Scientific meaning from Greek Example Greek word Greek meaning Notes alg- alga: alga alga: seaweed: pain: analgesic: ἄλγος: pain crema- burn: cremation: cremāre: to burn hang, be suspended cremaster: κρεμάννυμι: I hang (tr.)
Prefixes do not normally require further modification to be added to a word root because the prefix normally ends in a vowel or vowel sound, although in some cases they may assimilate slightly and an in-may change to im-or syn-to sym-. Suffixes are attached to the end of a word root to add meaning such as condition, disease process, or procedure.
The following is an alphabetical list of Greek and Latin roots, stems, and prefixes commonly used in the English language from P to Z. See also the lists from A to G and from H to O . Some of those used in medicine and medical technology are not listed here but instead in the entry for List of medical roots, suffixes and prefixes .
Adding a prefix to the beginning of an English word changes it to a different word. For example, when the prefix un-is added to the word happy, it creates the word unhappy. The word prefix is itself made up of the stem fix (meaning "attach", in this case), and the prefix pre-(meaning "before"), both of which are derived from Latin roots.
The second part of a binomial is often a person's name in the genitive case, ending -i (masculine) or -ae (feminine), such as Kaempfer's tody-tyrant, Hemitriccus kaempferi. The name may be converted into a Latinised form first, giving -ii and -iae instead. Words that are very similar to their English forms have been omitted.
Linnaeus' Species Plantarum (1753) This is a list of terms and symbols used in scientific names for organisms, and in describing the names. For proper parts of the names themselves, see List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names.