-opsia

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

The form -opsia 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.

The form -opsia is a less common variant of -opia.

Want to know more? Read our Words That Use -opia article.

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.

One example of a medical term that features -opsia (via New Latin) is macropsia, meaning “a defect of vision in which objects appear to be larger than their actual size.”

The first part of the word, macr-, means “large.” The combining form -opsia, as we’ve seen, refers to sight and sigh disorders. Macropsia has a literal sense of “seeing large visions.”

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

• cyanopsia
• hemianopsia
• teleopsia
• erythropsia
• chromatopsia
• oscillopsia
• xanthopsia

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

• -phasia
• opistho-

Cyan is a greenish-blue color. With this in mind, what does the medical condition cyanopsia involve?