plasm-

The combining form –plasm is used like a suffix meaning “living substance,” “tissue,” “substance of a cell.” It is very occasionally used in scientific terms, especially in biology.

The form –plasm comes from Greek plásma, meaning “something molded or formed.” Find out how plásma is related to plaster and plastic at our entries for both words.

What are variants of –plasm?

The form –plasm does not have any variants. However, it is related to the combining forms plasmo– and plasm–, as in plasmapheresis. Additional related forms include –plasia, –plasy, –plastic, and –plasty. To learn more, check out our Words That Use articles about these forms.

One example of a term you may have encountered that features the form –plasm is cytoplasm, “the cell substance between the cell membrane and the nucleus.”

The form cyto– means “cell,” from Greek kýtos. As we have seen, –plasm means “tissue.” Cytoplasm literally translates to “cell tissue.”

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

• alloplasm
• deuteroplasm
• idioplasm
• myoplasm
• neuroplasm
• nucleoplasm
• phytoplasm

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

• -plasia
• -plast

The combining form phyto– means “leaf.” With this in mind, what does phytoplasm literally mean?