-plasy

1. variant of -plasia.

Words That Use -plasy

What does -plasy mean?

The combining form –plasy is used like a suffix meaning “growth, cellular multiplication.” It is very occasionally used in scientific terms.

The form –plasy comes from Greek plásis, meaning “a molding.” Find out how plásis is related to plasma, plaster, and plastic at our entry for each word.

What are variants of -plasy?

In most cases, the form –plasy is spelled with an –ia instead of an –y, becoming –plasia, as in hyperplasia. Additional related forms include –plasm, –plast, –plastic, and –plasty. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles about these forms.

Examples of -plasy

One of the very few words that uses the form –plasy is homoplasy, “correspondence in form or structure, owing to a similar environment.”

Homo– is a form that means “same,” from Greek homós. The –plasy part of the word means “growth,” as we have seen. Homoplasy literally translates to “same growth.”

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

• hemiplasy
• homeoplasy
• hyperplasy
• orthoplasy

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

• -logy
• -plasty
• -plegia

Break it down!

The combining form hyper– means “over.” With this in mind, what does hyperplasy literally mean?