glyco-

1. a combining form with the meanings “sugar,” “glucose and its derivatives,” used in the formation of compound words:

   glycolipid.

glyco-

combining_form

1. indicating sugar

   glycogen

Word History and Origins

Origin of glyco-¹

Combining form representing Greek glykýs sweet

Word History and Origins

Origin of glyco-¹

from Greek glukus sweet

Example Sentences

"Twenty-four hours before competition you just stop drinking completely and your body just keeps weeing, draining itself of all the liquid because you've unsettled your sodium levels. "Your muscle glyco levels just blow up.

From BBC

Chemical structure of vancomycin, the pioneering member of the class of lipoglycopeptide antibiotics: “lipo” for the fatty portion, “glyco” for the sugar, and “peptide” for the amino acids.

From Forbes

He has some tit-bits, too, in reserve, the lady chariot-driver, and the steward of Glyco, who was caught with his master’s wife; poor wretch, he was only obeying orders.

From Project Gutenberg

And the worthless Glyco has given him to the beasts; the lady deserved to suffer.

From Project Gutenberg

We had sweetmeats, rose leaf glyco, oranges and all kinds of fruit.

From Project Gutenberg

Words That Use glyco-

What does glyco- mean?

Glyco– is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “sugar” or “glucose and its derivatives.” Glucose is a sugar found in many fruits, animal tissues and fluids, and other sources. Glyco– is often used in scientific terms, especially in chemistry.

Glyco– comes from Greek glykýs, meaning “sweet.” The Latin translation (and perhaps cognate) of glykýs is dulcis, “sweet,” which is the source of sweetness-related terms such as dulcet and, through Italian, dolce vita. To learn more, check out our entries for both words.

What are variants of glyco-?

When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, glyco– becomes glyc-, as in glycin.

Less common variants of glyco– are gluco- and gluc-, as in glucolipid and glucan.

Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles on glyc-, gluco-, and gluc-.

Examples of glyco-

An example of a scientific term that uses the form glyco– is glycogen, also called animal starch, “a white, tasteless polysaccharide, constituting the principal carbohydrate storage material in animals.”

We know glyco– means “sugar,” and the -gen portion of the word means “that which produces,” from Greek –genēs. Glycogen literally translates to “that which produces sugar.”

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

• glycocalyx
• glycocholate
• glycogenetic
• glycolyl
• glycotransferase
• glycotrophic

What are some other forms that glyco– may be commonly confused with?

• glio-
• glosso-
• glotto-
• gymno-
• gyro-
• leuco-
• lyso-

Break it down!

The combining form -genetic means “of or relating to an origin, creation, or beginning.” With this in mind, what does glycogenetic literally mean?