stomat-

Stomat- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “mouth” and occasionally, “cervix,” a medical term for the lower end of the uterus. Stomat- is used in medical and scientific terms.

Stomat- comes from the Greek stóma, meaning “mouth.” This root is the source of the English words stoma and stomate (technical terms for a mouth, among other senses) and is related to stomach. Stomach? Our stomachs and mouths are certainly connected—and etymologically so, too. Discover the connection at our entry for the word.

Stomat- is a variant of stomato-, which loses its -o– when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use stomato- article.

Closely related to stomat- are -stomous and -stomy. Learn more about the specific applications of these forms at our Words That Use articles for them.

A medical term that features the combining form stomat- is stomatitis, “inflammation of the mouth.”

As we have seen, stomat- means “mouth.” What about the -itis portion of the word? That’s right, it means “inflammation.” So, stomatitis literally translates to “mouth inflammation.”

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

• stomatal
• stomatalgia
• stomatic (using the equivalent form of stomat- in Greek)
• stomatodynia
• stomatomy
• stomatous

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

• somat-
• stamin-
• stern-

The combining form -algia means “pain.” With this in mind, what does the medical condition stomatalgia involve?