glosso-

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-.

One example of a medical term that uses the form glosso– is glossotomy, “incision of the tongue.”

The glosso– portion of the word means “tongue,” but what about the –tomy part of the word? The form –tomy, from Greek –tomia, means “cutting” or “incision.” Glossotomy literally translates to “tongue incision.”

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

• glossocele
• glossography
• glossohyal
• glossology
• glossopathy
• glossospasm

What are some other forms that glosso– may be commonly confused with?

• glauco-
• glio-
• glyc-
• glyco-

The combining form –logy is used to name branches of science or domains of knowledge. With this in mind, what is glossology?