algo
1 Americannoun
combining form
Usage
What does algo- mean? Algo- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “pain.” It is occasionally used in medical terms, especially in psychiatry and pathology. Algo- comes from the Greek álgos, meaning “pain.” Similar in meaning and use to algo- are odyno- and -odynia, which derive from odýnē, also meaning “pain.”Corresponding forms of algo- combined to the end of words are -algia, as in ovarialgia, or -algy, as in coxalgy. Learn more about these forms in our Words That Use articles for each.
Etymology
Origin of algo1
First recorded in 1990–95; by shortening
Origin of algo-2
Combining form representing Greek álgos
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.