azo-

a combining form used in the formation of compound words, especially names of chemical compounds containing nitrogen or the azo group: azobenzene.

Nearby words

azlon, aznar, azo, azo dye, azo group, azo-, azobenzene, azof, azoic, azoic dye, azoimide

Also especially before a vowel, az-.

Origin of azo-

< Greek ázō(os) without life, equivalent to a- a-⁶ + zō- zo-

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for azo-

azo-

before a vowel az-

combining form

indicating the presence of an azo groupazobenzene

Word Origin for azo-

from French azote nitrogen, from Greek azōos lifeless, from a- 1 + zōē life

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for azo-

azo-

word-forming element denoting the presence of nitrogen, 1879, from comb. form of azote, the old term for "nitrogen" (from Greek a- "not, without" (see a- (3)) + zoion "a living being;" see zoo); coined in French by Lavoisier & de Morveau because living things cannot survive in the gas.

Medicine definitions for azo-

azo-

pref.

Containing a nitrogen group, especially one attached at both ends in a covalent bond to other groups:azole.

Science definitions for azo-

azo-

az-

A prefix that means containing an azo group attached at both ends to other groups, as in the compound azobenzene.