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diplo-

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

    diplococcus.



diplo-

combining_form

  1. double

    diplococcus

“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


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Word History and Origins

Origin of diplo-1

< Greek, combining form of diplóos twofold
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Word History and Origins

Origin of diplo-1

from Greek, from diploos, from di- 1+ -ploos -fold
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Example Sentences

She uploaded it to MySpace, and “messaged Diplo every day for two months through MySpace.”

Truth be told, Patrick and Diplo [who hosts SoundClash] were neck and neck in my dream wish list for this show.

The hyper-nuanced linguistic interpretations of European diplo-speak were absurd.

Instant reactions ranging from the puzzled (New Yorker) to the confused (Diplo).

Holbrooke, by contrast, was all bright colors even when forced into diplo-speak.

If none of the foregoing is observed but only diplo- or streptococci, these indicate one-plane division only.

Diplo-, Greek for double, as Diplostemonous, with two sets of stamens.

If only two cells cohere, it is called a diplo-coccus (twin-coccus).

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Words That Use Diplo-

What does diplo- mean?

Diplo- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “double” or “in pairs.” This form is frequently used in scientific terms, especially in zoology and botany.

Diplo- comes from Greek diplóos, meaning “twofold” or “double-folded.” Distantly related is Latin duplex, which also literally means “twofold.”

What are variants of diplo-?

When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, diplo- becomes dipl-, as in diploid.

Examples of diplo-

One example of a term that features diplo- you may have seen is diplodocus, “a huge herbivorous dinosaur of the genus Diplodocus, growing to a length of about 87 feet.” Diplodocus comes from the New Latin Diplodocus, which uses the equivalent of the form diplo-.

As we know, diplo- means “double,” while the -docus part of diplodocus means “beam, bar, shaft,” from Greek dokós. Diplodocus literally translates to “double beams,” a reference to the double row of bones in its tail.

What are some words that use the combining form diplo- or dipl-?

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

Not every word that begins with the letters diplo- is necessarily using the combining form diplo- to mean “double.” Diploma and diplomatic are two such examples. Both of these words, as it happens, ultimately come from the same root as diplo-, but they aren’t using diplo- as a combining form. Learn why diploma is a type of document and why diplomatic means “tactful” at our entry for each word.

Break it down!

In suffix -oid means “resembling, like.” With this in mind, what does diploid mean?

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