oto-
1 Americannoun
plural
Otos,plural
Otocombining form
Usage
What does oto- mean? Oto- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “ear.” It is often used in medical terms, especially in anatomy and pathology.Oto- comes from the Greek oûs, meaning “ear.” Related to the Greek oûs is English’s own word ear; so is the Latin word for ear, auris, which is the ultimate source of such words as aural. Learn more about oûs at our entry for otic, an adjective used in anatomy meaning “of or relating to the ear.”What are variants of oto-?When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, oto- becomes ot-, as in otitis.
Etymology
Origin of oto-
< Greek ōto-, combining form of oûs ear 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Fort Calhoun traces its roots to a meeting between explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and the Oto and Missouri tribes in August 1804 — 63 years before Nebraska became a state.
From Seattle Times
The film adds the wrinkle that the voice on the cassette with which Kafuku runs lines belongs to his wife, Oto.
From Los Angeles Times
We rehearsed several scenes that weren’t in the script, to focus on my character’s relationship with Oto.
From Los Angeles Times
The couple had a young daughter who died some years before, and when Oto dies suddenly, she leaves Yusuke paralyzed with grief.
From New York Times
We learn, from the film’s first act, that Oto has died, and that she had betrayed her husband before that.
From Washington Post
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.