dendri-

Dendri- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “tree.” It is used in some medical, scientific, and other technical terms.

Dendri- comes from the Greek déndron, meaning “tree.”

Dendri- is a variant of dendro-, used especially when combined with words or word elements of Latin origin.

Want to know more? Read our Words That Use dendro- article.

Another variant of dendro-, used when combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, is dendr-, as in dendrite.

A corresponding form of dendri-, dendro-, and dendr- combined to the end of words is -dendron, as in rhododendron.

One example of a term that features the combining form dendri- is dendriform, “treelike in form.”

We already know that dendri- means “tree.” And you may have deduced that -form means “having the form of,” ultimately from the Latin forma. Dendriform literally translates to “having the form of a tree.” Dendriform is sometimes used to describe treelike structures in medicine and architecture.

What are some words that use the combining form dendri-?

• dendrigraft
• dendrimer
• dendriplex

What are some other forms that dendri- may be commonly confused with?

• demo-
• demono-
• dento-
• deutero-
• odonto-

Dendrimers are a type of polymer (a kind of chemical compound, often synthetic, made up of smaller units). Based on the meaning of dendri-, what do dendrimers resemble?