ped

The combining form –ped is used like a suffix meaning “having a foot.” It is occasionally used in scientific terms, especially in biology.

The form –ped comes from Latin –pēs, meaning “-footed.” The Greek cognate of –pēs is –pous, “-footed,” which is the source of numerous combining forms that relate to the lower extremities, including pod–, podo–, –pod, –poda, –pode, –podium, and –podous. Discover more at our Words That Use articles for each of these seven forms.

What are variants of –ped?

A variant of –ped is –pede, as in centipede, which comes from Latin centipeda. Though not a variant, the form pedi– has the same root as –ped. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles for –pede and pedi-.

An example of a word you may have encountered that features –ped is quadruped, “four-footed.” Quadruped comes from Latin quadrupēs, which uses the equivalent of –ped in that language.

The quadru– part of the word means “four,” from Latin quattuor, while –ped means “-footed” in this context. Quadruped literally translates to “four-footed.”

What are some words that use the combining form –ped?

• aliped (using the equivalent form of –ped in Latin)
• biped (using the equivalent form of –ped in Latin)
• cheliped
• multiped (using the equivalent form of –ped in Latin)

What are some other forms that –ped may be commonly confused with?

• -pedia
• -penia
• -ploid

Not every word that ends with the exact letters –ped, such as dropped or couped, is necessarily using the combining form –ped to denote “-footed.” Learn why couped means “overturned” at our entry for the word.

The combining form bi– means “two.” With this in mind, what does biped mean?