glotto-

1. variant of glosso-.

   glottology.

Word History and Origins

Origin of glotto-¹

< Greek ( Attic ) glōtto-, combining form of glôtta; glottis

When To Use

What does glotto- mean?

The combining form glotto- is used like a prefix meaning “tongue.” Often, glotto- is used figuratively to mean "word," "speech," or "language." It is very occasionally used in scientific terms, especially in linguistics.The form glotto- comes from Greek glôtta, meaning “tongue,” a variant of glôssa, with the same meaning. The Latin translation of glôssa is lingua, meaning “tongue” or “speech,” source of such words as language and bilingual.What are variants of glotto-?The form glotto- is a variant of glosso-, which is more commonly used in terms from anatomy. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use article about glosso-.