Main Greek Suffixes

The Greek suffixes they are often used in the Spanish language. A suffix is ​​one or several letters or syllables that are placed at the end of a lexeme (or the root of a word), to form a new word. Now, the process of forming new words by adding affixes to a pre-existing one (called primitive) is called derivation.

In Spanish, derivation occurs by placing prefixes (before the root) or suffixes (after the root). In the case of suffixes, most come either from Greek or from Latin. Greek suffixes are especially common in areas such as medicine and in many technical fields.

Some authors distinguish between suffixes and suffix roots (or suffixes). The latter are words that were independent in Greek, but in Spanish they became inseparable suffixes: for example,"cracia". With this suffix or suffix root (depending on the criterion) words such as democracy, autocracy, bureaucracy, meritocracy or theocracy are formed.

Greek suffixes and their meaning

-governance (guiding, driving, derivation or driving a substance)

- Pedagogue (professional of pedagogy).

- Demagogue (person who wins the favor of the people with compliments).

- Colagogue (substance that causes the evacuation of bile).

- Emenagogo (substance that stimulates blood flow).

- Hemagogue (agent that induces or increases menstrual flow).

-cardia (relative to the heart)

- Tachycardia (accelerated heart rate).

- Dextrocardia (situation of the heart in the right half of the thorax).

- Stenocardia (angina pectoris).

- Bradycardia (decrease in normal heart rate).

- Dexiocardia (deviation of the heart to the right).

-cephaly (head)

- Brachycephaly (condition characterized by longitudinal shortening of the diameter of the skull).

- Hydrocephalus (increased cerebrospinal fluid content of the cerebral ventricles, due to dilatation of these).

- Macrocephaly (increase in the size of the head in relation to the age of the person).

- Plagiocephaly (asymmetry and obliquity of the head).

- Microcephaly (cranial perimeter less than average).

-centesis (puncture for obtaining fluids)

- Rickets (puncture in the spinal canal).

- Thoracentesis (thoracic puncture).

- Paracentesis (puncture for obtaining peritoneal fluid).

- Arthrocentesis (puncture to obtain joint fluid).

- Amniocentesis (puncture in the matrix to obtain amniotic fluid).

-ectomy (section, section)

- Hysterectomy (partial or total removal of uterus).

- Mastectomy (partial or total extirpation of the mammary gland).

- Vasectomy (partial or total extirpation of the vas deferens of the male sexual organs).

- Splenectomy (partial or total removal of the stomach).

- Gastrectomy (partial or total removal of spleen).

-fagia (relative to the action of eating)

- Onychophagia (morbid habit of eating the nails).

- Adefagia (insatiable hunger).

- Aerophagia (excessive air swallowing).

- Anthropophagy (custom of eating human flesh).

- Dysphagia (difficulty or inability to swallow).

-phobia (fear, fear, intolerance)

- Agoraphobia (fear of open spaces).

- Xenophobia (rejection of foreigners).

- Photophobia (intolerance to light).

- Claustrophobia (fear of closed spaces).

- Dysmorphophobia (abnormal concern for some real or imagined body defect).

-phony (relative to voice or sound)

- Bronchophony (resonance of the voice in the bronchi).

- Polyphony (multiple simultaneous and harmonious sounds).

- Francophony (community of people around the world who speak the French language).

- Aphonia (total or partial loss of voice).

- Radiophony (transmission of sound by radio waves).

-gamia (relative to marriage)

- Endogamy (marriage with people of common descent: same race, caste, social status).

- Monogamy (the fact or the habit of having a relationship or marriage with just another person).

- Polygamy (marriage with several individuals, usually women, at the same time).

- Exogamy (marriage with people of different descent).

- Bigamy (the condition of having two wives or two spouses at the same time).

-gnosis / gnosia (knowledge or perception)

- Diagnosis (procedure through which the nature of a phenomenon is determined, including a disease).

- Prognosis (anticipated knowledge of some event).

- Autognosis (self-knowledge).

- Stereognosis (ability to recognize the nature of objects by their shape or consistency).

- Pharmacognosy (study of drugs and medicinal substances of natural origin).

-ico / ica (relative to science, knowledge, principles)

- Mathematics (abstract science of numbers, quantity and space).

- Arithmetic (branch of mathematics that deals with the properties of numbers and fractions, and the basic operations applied to these numbers).

- Politics (the academic study of the government and the State).

- Ethics (the branch of knowledge that deals with moral principles).

- Hermeneutics (branch of knowledge that deals with the interpretation of texts, especially the Bible or literary texts).

-ismo (doctrine, system, way of thinking)

- Capitalism (economic theory where production is privately owned and controlled by the laws of supply and demand).

- Romanticism (artistic and intellectual movement that emphasized strong emotions as a source of aesthetic experience).

- Taoism (ancient tradition of philosophy and religious belief that is deeply rooted in Chinese customs and worldview).

- Impressionism (French art movement of the nineteenth century that marked a transcendental break of tradition in European painting).

- Liberalism (political doctrine that takes the protection and improvement of the individual's freedom as the central problem of politics).

-itis (inflammation or irritation)

- Pharyngitis (inflammation of the pharynx).

- Meningitis (inflammation of the meninges caused by a viral or bacterial infection).

- Gastritis (inflammation of the lining of the stomach).

- Dermatitis (inflammation of the skin).

- Otitis (inflammation in the ear).

-Apathy (disease)

- Neuropathy (condition that occurs when peripheral nerves are damaged or broken).

- Encephalopathy (disease in which the functioning of the brain is affected by an agent or condition).

- Gambling (addiction to gambling and betting).

- Psychopathy (personality disorder characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy, altered remorse, audacious, uninhibited and selfish traits).

- Arthropathy (any disease of the joints).

-sis (action, training, operation, generalization)

- Acidosis (excessive acid condition of body fluids or tissues).

- Fibrosis (thickening and scarring of the connective tissue, usually as a result of an injury).

- Nephrosis (kidney disease that causes the body to lose protein through urine).

- Thrombosis (local coagulation or blood clotting in a part of the circulatory system).

- Necrosis (death of most or all cells of an organ or tissue due to disease, injury or failure of the blood supply).

References

1. Zarzar Charur, C. (2017). Reading and writing workshop 2. Mexico City: Grupo Editorial Patria.
2. Pineda Ramírez, M. I. (2004). Language and Expression 2. Mexico: Pearson Education.
3. García, S.; Meilán, A. J. and Martínez, H. (2004). Build well in Spanish: the form of words. Oviedo: Ediuno: University of Oviedo.
4. Guzmán Lemus, M.; Vázquez García, V. and Alveano Hernández, J. A. (2004). Prefixes, suffixes and medical terms. Mexico D. F.: Plaza y Valdés.
5. Orozco Turrubiate, J. G. (2007). Greek etymologies. Mexico: Pearson Education.
6. Canteli Dominicis, M. and Reynolds, J. J. (2010). Review and write: Advanced course in grammar and composition. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.