crystallo-

American  

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

   crystallography.

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crystallo- British  

combining form

1. crystal

   crystallography

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Usage

What does crystallo- mean? Crystallo- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “crystal.” It is used in some scientific terms, especially in geology and mineralogy. Crystallo- comes from the Greek krýstallos, meaning “clear ice, rock crystal,” source of the word crystal, as you may have guessed. But did you guess the following? The Greek krýstallos is related to krýos, meaning “ice cold” or “frost” and source of the combining form cryo-. Learn more in our Words That Use cryo- article. What are variants of crystallo-?When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, crystallo- becomes crystall-, as in crystallize. When combined with word elements that come from Latin, crystallo- occasionally becomes crystalli-, as in crystalliferous.

Etymology

Origin of crystallo-

< Greek krystallo-, combining form of krýstallos crystal

Example Sentences

It was taken five years previously by the English crystallo- grapher W. T. Astbury, and could be used to start us off.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson