lacti-

Lacti- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “milk.” In terms from chemistry, it used to specifically mean “lactate” or “lactic acid.” It is occasionally used in scientific and medical terms.

Lacti- comes from Latin lac (stem lact-), meaning “milk.” The Latin cognate of lac is gála (stem galakt-), also meaning “milk,” which is the source of galaxy. To learn more, check out our Words That Use articles on galacto- and galact-.

What are variants of lacti-?

Lacti- is a variant of lacto- or lact- that is used when combined with words or word elements that begin with the consonants –f– or –g-.

Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles about lacto- and lact-.

One example of a medical term that uses the form lacti- is lactigenous, “producing milk.”

The lacti- part of the word means “milk,” as we already know. The second part of the word lactigenous is the form -genous, meaning “of or relating to that which produces.” Lactigenous literally translates to “of or relating to that which produces milk.”

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

• lactiferous (using the equivalent form of lacti- in Latin)
• lactifuge
• lactigerous

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

• galact-
• galacto-

The combining form -ferous means “bearing” or “producing.” With this in mind, what does lactiferous literally mean?