-plast

1. a combining form meaning “living substance,” “organelle,” “cell,” used in the formation of compound words:

   chloroplast; chromoplast; protoplast.

-plast

combining form

1. indicating an organized living cell or particle of living matter

   protoplast

Word History and Origins

Origin of -plast¹

Combining form representing Greek plastós formed, molded, equivalent to plath-, base of plássein to form, mold + -tos verbal adjective suffix, with tht > st. See plastic

Word History and Origins

Origin of -plast¹

from Greek plastos formed, from plassein to form

Example Sentences

Periplast, per′i-plast, n. the intercellular substance of an organ or tissue of the body.

From Project Gutenberg

Words That Use -plast

What does -plast mean?

The combining form –plast is used like a suffix meaning “living substance,” “cell,” or “organelle.” An organelle is “a cell organ.” The form –plast is often used in scientific terms, especially in biology.

The form –plast comes from the Greek plastós, meaning “formed, molded.” Find out how plastós is related to plasma, plaster, and plastic at our entry for each word.

What are variants of –plast?

The form –plast does not have any variants. However, it is related to the forms –plastic and –plasty, as in fibroplastic and rhinoplasty. Additional related forms include –plasia, –plasy, –and –plasm. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles for these forms.

Examples of -plast

One example of a scientific term that uses the form –plast is lipoplast, “a small particle in plant cytoplasm, especially that of seeds, in which fat is stored.”

The lipo– part of the word means “fat,” from Greek lípos. As we have seen, the form –plast means “organelle.” Lipoplast literally translates to “fat organelle.”

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

• alloplast
• apoplast
• chloroplast
• cytoplast
• karyoplast
• kinetoplast
• tonoplast

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

• -blast
• -plasm

Break it down!

The combining form chloro– means “green.” With this in mind, what does chloroplast literally translate to?