glosso-

American  

especially before a vowel, gloss-

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

   glossology.

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glosso- British  

combining form

1. indicating a tongue or language

   glossolaryngeal

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Usage

What does glosso- mean? The combining form glosso- is used like a prefix meaning “tongue.” It is occasionally used in medical terms, especially in pathology. In some instances, "tongue" is used figuratively to mean "word," "speech," or "language."The form glosso- comes from Greek glôssa, meaning “tongue.” The Latin translation of glôssa is lingua, meaning “tongue” or “speech,” source of such words as language and bilingual.What are variants of glosso-?When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, glosso- becomes gloss-, as in glossalgia.A less-common variant of glosso- is glotto-, as in glottogony. Generally, glotto- means "tongue" as in "language." Want to know more? Read our Words That Use article about glotto-.

Etymology

Origin of glosso-

< Greek (Ionic), combining form of glôssa