-algia
WORDS THAT USE -ALGIA
What does -algia mean?
The combining form –algia is used like a suffix meaning “pain.” It is often used in medical terms, especially in pathology.
The form -algia comes from the Greek álgos, meaning “pain.” Similar in meaning and use to algo- are odyno- and -odynia, which derive from odýnē, also meaning “pain.”
What are variants of -algia?
In rare instances, a variant of the combining form -algia is –algy, as in coxalgy.
A corresponding form of -algia combined to the beginning of words is algo-, as in algophobia. Learn more about these forms in our Words That Use articles for each.
Examples of -algia
An example of a word you may have encountered that features -algia is fibromyalgia, “a syndrome characterized by fatigue and chronic pain in the muscles and in tissues surrounding the joints.”
The first two parts of the word, fibro- and my- mean “fiber” and “muscle,” respectively. The form -algia means “pain,” as we have seen. Fibromyalgia literally translates to “muscle fiber pain.”
What are some words that use the combining form -algia?
- arthralgia
- cardialgia
- cephalalgia
- colpalgia
- coxalgia
- encephalalgia
- esophagalgia
- gonalgia
- hepatalgia
- orchialgia
- otalgia
- ostealgia
- mastodynia
- myalgia
- pleuralgia
- podalgia
- sacralgia
- synalgia
- ureteralgia
What are some other forms that -algia may be commonly confused with?
How to use -algia in a sentence
He cannot bear that Algia should dance before strangers, but what can he do?
Desert Air|Robert Hichens