combining form

 

noun

Grammar
  • a form of a word normally used in compounds in combination with another element to form a word (e.g. Anglo- ‘English’ in Anglo-Irish, bio- ‘life’ in biology, -graphy ‘writing’ in biography).

In this dictionary, combining form is used to denote an element that contributes to the particular sense of words (as with bio- and -graphy in biography), as distinct from a prefix or suffix that adjusts the sense of or determines the function of words (as with un-, -able, and -ation).