galact-

Galact- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “milk.” It is occasionally used in medical terms, especially in anatomy and pathology.

Galact- comes from Greek gála (stem galakt-), meaning “milk.” The Latin cognate of gála is lac (stem lact-), also meaning “milk,” which is the source of lactose, latte, and perhaps even lettuce. To learn more, check out our Words That Use articles on the combining forms lact-, lacti-, and lacto-.

What are variants of galact-?

Galact- is a variant of galacto-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use galacto- article.

One example of a term that uses the form galact- is galactoid, “resembling milk, milky.”

The galact- part of the word means “milk,” as we have already seen. The suffix -oid means “resembling” or “like,” from Greek -oeidēs. Galactoid literally translates to “resembling milk.”

What are some words that use the combining form galact-?

• galactan (using the equivalent form of galact- in German)
• galactic (using the equivalent form of galact- in Greek)
• galactin
• galactose
• galactosis

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

• gamo-
• gastro-
• lact-

The suffix -ose is used in terms from chemistry to denote sugars and other carbohydrates. With this in mind, what does galactose literally refer to?