-opia

The combining form -opia is used like a suffix denoting visual disorders. It is often used in medical terms, especially in ophthalmology.

The combining form -opia comes from the Greek ṓps, meaning “eye” or “face.” The Greek ṓps is also at the root of the word cyclops, a mythical giant with a single large eye. Cyclops literally means “round-eye” in Greek.

What are variants of –opia?

Occasionally, -opsia is used as a variant of -opia, as in teleopsia. Another rare variant of -opia is -opy.

Speaking of ophthalmology, this “eyeful” of a word uses ophthalmo-, a combining form from the Greek ophthalmós, which is ultimately related ṓps, source of -opia.

The combining form -opia is used to name various visual disorders. One such condition is polyopia, “the perception of several visual images of one object, multiple vision.”

The first part of the word, poly-, means “much, many.” As we know, -opia refers to sight and seeing. Polyopia has a literal sense of “seeing many visions.”

What are some words that use the combining form –opia?

• asthenopia
• anopia
• euryopia
• hemiopia
• hyperopia
• myopia (using the equivalent form of -opia in New Latin)
• nyctalopia (using the equivalent form of -opia in Late Latin)
• scotopia

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

• opistho-

The combining form phot- means “light.” With this in mind, what is photopia?