melano-

American  

especially before a vowel, melan-

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

   melanocyte.

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melano- British  

combining form

1. black or dark

   melanin

   melanism

   melanocyte

   melanoma

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Usage

What does melano- mean? Melano- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “black, dark-colored.” In biology and medicine, melano- is specifically used to refer to melanin, “any of a class of insoluble pigments, found in all forms of animal life, that account for the dark color of skin, hair, fur, scales, feathers, etc.”Melano- comes from the Greek mélās, meaning “black.” The word melancholy is also derived in part from this root. What does the Greek word for black have to do with a gloomy state of mind? Discover the connection at our entry and video for melancholy. What are variants of melano-?When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, melano- becomes melan-, as in melanin.

Etymology

Origin of melano-

From Greek, combining form of mélās “black”