spor-

American  

1. variant of sporo- before a vowel.

   sporangium.

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Usage

What does spor- mean? Spor- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “spore.” Spore can have a variety of meanings, but in biology, it is used to refer to small organisms such as seeds or germ cells. Spor- ultimately comes from the Greek sporá, meaning “sowing” or “seed.” Sporadic, meaning "occasional," comes from the related Greek sporadikós. Find out what sporadic has to do with seeds at our entry. What are variants of spor-?Spor- is a variant of sporo-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. When combined with words or word elements of Latin origin, spor- becomes spori-, as in sporiferous. When used at the end of a word, as a suffix, spor- becomes -spore, as in teliospore. A related adjectival form is -sporous, which means “having spores” or, literally, “full of spores.”Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles for spori-, sporo-, -spore and -sporous.