cephalo-

American  

1. a combining form meaning “head,” used in the formation of compound words.

   cephalometry.

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cephalo- British  

combining form

1. indicating the head

   cephalopod

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Usage

What does cephalo- mean? Cephalo- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “head.” It is often used in medical and scientific terms. Cephalo- comes from the Greek kephalḗ, meaning “head.”What are variants of cephalo-?When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, cephalo- becomes cephal-, as in cephalalgia. Corresponding forms of cephalo- combined to the end of words are -cephaly, -cephalic, and -cephalous, which you can learn more about in our Words That Use articles for each form. Also deriving from kephalḗ are the combining forms encephalo- and encephal-, meaning “brain.”Want to know more? Read our Words That Use encephalo- and encephal- articles.

Etymology

Origin of cephalo-

< Greek kephalo-, combining form of kephalḗ head; akin to gable