metall-

The combining form metall- is used like a prefix meaning “metal.” It is occasionally used in scientific terms, especially in chemistry and medicine.

The form metall- comes from Greek métallon, meaning “metal, mine, quarry.” Yes, quarry! Discover why at our entry for metal.

What are variants of metall-?

The form metall- is a variant of metallo-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. A rare variant of metall- is metalli-, as in metalliferous. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles for both metalli- and metallo-.

A scientific term that features the form metall- is metalloid, “a nonmetal that in combination with a metal forms an alloy.” The word metalloid can also be used as an adjective to mean “resembling both a metal and a nonmetal.”

The metall- part of the word means “metal,” while the suffix -oid means “resembling” or “like.” Metalloid literally translates to “resembling metal” or “metal-like.”

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

• metallic (using the equivalent form of metall- in Greek)
• metallicize
• metallide
• metalline (using the equivalent form of metall- in Latin)
• metallist
• metallize

What are some other forms that metall- may be commonly confused with?

• meta-
• myel-
• myelo-

The suffix -ine has various meanings, including “made of.” With this in mind, what does the scientific term metalline mean?