pod

The combining form pod– is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “foot.” It is very occasionally used in scientific terms, especially in biology and medicine.

The form pod– comes from Greek poús, meaning “foot.” The Latin cognate of poús is pēs, “foot,” and is the source of several combining forms related to the lower extremities, including –ped, –pede, ped–, and pedi–. Discover more at our Words That Use articles for each of these four forms.

What are variants of pod-?

The form pod– is a variant of podo–, which loses its –o– when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels, and shares an origin with the combining forms –pod, –poda, –pode, –podium, and –podous. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles for all six forms.

A word you have likely come across that features the form pod– is podiatry, “the care of the human foot, especially the diagnosis and treatment of foot disorders.”

The form pod– means “foot,” as we have seen, while the –iatry part of the word means “healing, medical practice,” from Greek iātreía.

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

• podagra (using the equivalent form of pod- in Greek)
• podalgia
• podalic
• podarthritis
• podedema
• podium (using the equivalent form of pod- in Greek)

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

• pedi-
• pedo-

Not every word that begins with the exact letters podo– or pod-, such as podosphere, is necessarily using the combining form podo– to denote “foot.” Learn why podosphere means “podcast audience” at our entry for the word.

The combining form –algia means “pain.” With this in mind, what is the medical condition podalgia?