-gamous
Origin of -gamous
Words nearby -gamous
WORDS THAT USE -GAMOUS
What does -gamous mean?
The combining form -gamous is used like a suffix meaning “having gametes or reproductive organs.” Gametes are a mature sexual reproductive cell, such as a sperm or egg, that unites with another cell to form a new organism.
The form -gamous is also used to form adjectives related to the form -gamy, which means “marriage.” In this sense, -gamous means roughly “married.”
The form -gamous is often used in scientific terms, especially in biology. It comes from Greek -gamos, meaning “marrying.”
What are variants of -gamous?
While -gamous doesn’t have any variants, it is related to the form -gamy, as in endogamy. Additional combining forms of the same general origin include gamet-, gameto-, and gamo-. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles for the forms.
Examples of -gamous
An example of a word you may have encountered that features -gamous is monogamous, “practicing or advocating for marriage with only one person at a time.” Monogamous comes from Greek monógamos, which uses the equivalent form of -gamous.
The form mono- means “single” or “one,” from Greek mónos. As we have seen, one of the meanings of -gamous is “married.” Monogamous literally translates to “married to one (person).”
What are some words that use the combining form -gamous?
- bigamous (using the equivalent form of -gamous in Greek)
- cleistogamous
- endogamous
- oogamous
- polygamous (using the equivalent form of -gamous in Greek)
What are some other forms that -gamous may be commonly confused with?