pleio-

also pleo-, word-forming element meaning "more," from Greek pleiōn "larger, greater in quantity, the more part, very many" (comparative of polys "much"), from PIE *ple- (source also of Latin plere "to fill," plebes, "the populace, the common people;" Greek plēthein "be full," plērēs "full"), possibly a variant of root *pele- (1) "to fill."

Entries linking to pleio-

pleiotropy (n.)

"production by a single gene of two or more apparently unrelated effects," 1921, from German pleiotrop (1910), from Greek pleiōn "greater in quantity, the more part, very many" (see pleio-) + tropē "a turn, turning" (from PIE root *trep- "to turn"). Related: Pleiotropic; pleiotropism.

Pleistocene (adj.)

a name given by geologists to the lower division of the Quaternary, now reckoned as from about 2.6 million years ago and essentially "pertaining to the glacial period," 1839, coined by Lyell from Greek pleistos "most" (superlative of polys "much;" see pleio-) + -cene "recent."

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Pliocene

in geology, in reference to the most recent division of the Tertiary, 1833, from plio- "more" (Latinized form of pleio-)...

guinea

former British coin, 1660s, from Guinea, because the coins were first minted for British trade with Guinea (but soon in domestic use) and with gold from Africa. The original guinea was in use from 1663 to 1813....region along the west coast of Africa, presumably from an African w

snow

Middle English snou, from Old English snaw "snow, that which falls as snow; a fall of snow; a snowstorm," from Proto-Germanic *snaiwaz (source also of Old Saxon and Old High German sneo, Old Frisian and Middle Low German sne, Middle Dutch snee, Dutch sneeuw, German Schnee, Old No

weird

c. 1400, "having power to control fate," from wierd (n.), from Old English wyrd "fate, chance, fortune; destiny; the Fates," literally "that which comes," from Proto-Germanic *wurthiz (source also of Old Saxon wurd, Old High German wurt "fate," Old Norse urðr "fate, one of the th

cirrhosis

"chronic inflammation of connective tissue," originally and especially of the liver, 1827, coined in Modern Latin by French physician René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laennec with -osis and Greek kirros "red-yellow, yellow-brown, tawny," which is of unknown origin. The form is erroneous,

dismal

c. 1400, "unlucky, inauspicious," in dismal day, earlier as a noun, in the dismal (c. 1300) "in days of misfortune or disaster, under inauspicious circumstances, at an unlucky time," from Anglo-French dismal (mid-13c.), apparently from Old French (li) dis mals "(the) bad days," f

scramble

1580s (intransitive), "make one's way by clambering, etc., struggle or wriggle along," also "strive with others or jostle and grasp rudely for a share or for mastery;" a word of obscure origin, perhaps a nasalized variant of scrabble (v.) "to struggle; to scrape quickly." OED poi

monument

late 13c., "a sepulchre," from Old French monument "grave, tomb, monument," and directly from Latin monumentum "a monument, memorial structure, statue; votive offering; tomb; memorial record," literally "something that reminds," a derivative of monere "to remind, bring to (one's)

ghetto

1610s, "part of a city in which Jews are compelled to live," especially in Italy, from Italian ghetto "part of a city to which Jews are restricted," of unknown origin. The various theories trace it to: Yiddish get "deed of separation;" a special use of Venetian getto "foundry" (t

specious

late 14c., "pleasing to the sight, fair," from Latin speciosus "good-looking, beautiful, fair," also "showy, pretended, plausible, specious" (source also of Old French specieux, specieuse), from species "appearance, form, figure, beauty" (see species). Meaning "seemingly desirabl

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updated on July 11, 2020

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Dictionary entries near pleio-

plectrum

pled

pledge

Pleiades

plein-air

pleio-

pleiotropy

Pleistocene

pleistodox

*plek-

plenary