blast

The combining form –blast is used like a suffix with a variety of meanings. Especially in terms from botany, it means “bud, sprout.” In other scientific terms, this meaning is applied metaphorically to mean “embryo” or “formative cells or cell layer.” Formative cells are cells capable of developing new cells or tissue, or embryonic cells.

The form –blast comes from Greek blastós, meaning “bud” or “sprout.” The Latin translation of blastós was germen, “sprout” or “shoot.” Learn how germen is the source of german, meaning “having the same parents,” and germane, meaning “relevant”—but not to German, a person from Germany—at our entries for each word.

What are variants of –blast?

The form –blast does not have any variants. However, it is related to the form –blastic, as in holoblastic. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use article for –blastic.

One example of a scientific term that uses the form –blast is macroblast, “an abnormally large bone marrow cell from which red blood cells develop.”

The form macro– may look familiar; it means “large,” from Greek makrós. As we have seen, –blast can mean “formative cells.” Macroblast literally translates to “large formative cells.”

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

• angioblast
• neuroblast
• ooblast
• trophoblast
• xenoblast

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

• -plast
• -plasty

The combining form neuro– means “nerves” or “nervous system.” With this in mind, what are neuroblasts?