-mer

¹

Chemistry.

1. a combining form meaning “member of a particular group”:

   isomer.

mer.

²

abbreviation for

1. meridian.
2. meridional.

mer.

¹

abbreviation for

1. meridian

-mer

²

suffix forming nouns

1. chem denoting a substance of a particular class

   polymer

   monomer

Word History and Origins

Origin of -mer¹

From the Greek word méros part, portion

Word History and Origins

Origin of -mer¹

from Greek meros part

Example Sentences

Schulze started recording after she and her husband noticed the stalled vehicle on the tracks in Mer Rouge, Louisiana.

From The Daily Beast

That trial unveiled financing links between the Cercle Wagram and the Brise de Mer, a Corsican organized crime group.

From The Daily Beast

Ferracci is also a television actor who appears in “Mafiosa,” a series said to be inspired by the Brise de Mer gang.

From The Daily Beast

La Mer . . . Crosby, Stills and Nash, Fritz Reiner, Adam Guettel.

From The Daily Beast

I mean, vai-is-mer, if you take the liberals out of the Jews, what do you have left?

From The Daily Beast

En fin il parvint Dieppe, & apres quelque sejour il se mit en mer le 26.

From Project Gutenberg

An empty stone hut beyond the mer de glace gave them shelter for the night.

From Project Gutenberg

Before they left, they presented me with a quantity of bêche-de-mer, or sea-slugs, which make most excellent soup.

From Project Gutenberg

A-my thought there was no place like Grand-ma's for her sum-mer va-ca-tion.

From Project Gutenberg

We walked quickly over the Mer de Glace, and in about three hours came to the difficult part.

From Project Gutenberg

Words That Use -mer

What does -mer mean?

The combining form -mer is used like a suffix to mean “part,” specifically in reference to portions of molecules. It is often used in scientific terms, especially in chemistry.

The form -mer comes from Greek méros, meaning “part, portion.” From this same source, we also get the combining forms -mere and -merous.

Want to know more? Check out our Words That Use entries for both forms.

Examples of -mer

An example of a word that features -mer is polymer, “a compound derived by the addition of many smaller molecules or by the condensation of many smaller molecules.” Polymer comes from Greek polymerḗs, which uses the equivalent form of -mer.

The first part of the word, poly-, is a combining form meaning “much, many.” The second part, -mer, means “part.” Polymer literally translates to “having many parts.”

What are some words that use the combining form -mer?

• hexamer
• ionomer
• isomer
• metamer
• monomer
• octamer

Break it down!

The combining form mono- means “single” or “one.” With this in mind, what does the term monomer literally mean?