telluro-

1. a combining form meaning “earth”, used in the formation of compound words:

   telluric.

2. a combining form representing tellurium in compound words:

   telluride.

Words That Use telluro-

What does telluro- mean?

Telluro– is a combining form used like a prefix that has two distinct senses.

The first of these senses is “earth,” and this form of telluro– is used in very few scientific and technical terms.

The second of these senses is “tellurium,” a rare, lustrous, brittle, crystalline, silver-white element resembling sulfur in its properties.” This use of telluro- is very occasionally used in terms from chemistry.

Telluro– comes from Latin tellūs, meaning “earth.” The Greek translation of tellūs is gê, “earth,” which is the source of the English combining form geo–, as in geography and geology. To learn more, check out our entries for both words.

What are variants of telluro-?

When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, telluro– becomes tellur-, as in tellurite.

Examples of telluro- with the sense “earth”

One of the technical terms that features the form telluro– to mean “earth” is tellurometer, “a surveying instrument using microwaves to measure distance.”

The telluro– part of the word means “earth,” while –meter means “measure,” from Greek métron. Tellurometer literally translates to “earth measure.”

What are some words that use the combining form telluro– or tellur-?

• telluric
• tellurion

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

• tele-
• telo-
• thallo-

Break it down!

The suffix –ic means “having some characteristics of.” With this in mind, what does telluric literally mean?

Examples of telluro- with the sense “tellurium”

A term from chemistry that features the form tellur– is tellurous, meaning “containing tetravalent tellurium.”

The tellur– part of the word here means “tellurium.” The –ous part of the word tellurous is a suffix meaning “possessing, full of.” Tellurous literally translates to “full of tellurium.”

What are some words that use the combining form telluro– or tellur-?

• tellurate
• telluric acid
• telluride
• tellurize

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

• tele-
• telo-
• thallo-

Break it down!

The suffix –ize has a variety of meanings, including “to subject to.” With this in mind, what does the chemistry term tellurize literally mean?