encephalo-

American  

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

   encephalograph.

---

encephalo- British  

combining form

1. indicating the brain

   encephalogram

   encephalitis

---

Usage

What does encephalo- mean? Encephalo- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “brain.” It is often used in medical terms, especially in anatomy. Encephalo- comes from the Greek enképhalos, meaning “brain." Literally, enképhalos means "in (en-) the head (kephalē).” That is where you can find the brain, after all. What are variants of encephalo-?When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, encephalo- becomes encephal-, as in encephaloma.

Etymology

Origin of encephalo-

< Greek enképhalos. See encephalon