encephal-
AmericanUsage
What does encephal- mean? Encephal- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “brain.” It is often used in medical terms, especially in anatomy. Encephal- comes from the Greek enképhalos, meaning “brain." Literally, enképhalos means "in (en-) the head (kephalē).” Isn’t that where you find the brain?!Encephal- is a variant of encephalo-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use encephalo- article.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
