histo-

1. a combining form meaning “tissue,” used in the formation of compound words:

   histology.

histo-

combining_form

1. indicating animal or plant tissue

   histamine

   histology

Word History and Origins

Origin of histo-¹

< Greek, combining form of histós web (of a loom), tissue

Word History and Origins

Origin of histo-¹

from Greek, from histos web

Example Sentences

Histo-research in bringing its time bubble back from the past got overzealous and cut the circuit too quickly.

From Project Gutenberg

Histo-research regrets this incident, but attributes it to the emergency.

From Project Gutenberg

Words That Use histo-

What does histo- mean?

The combining form histo- is used like a prefix meaning “tissue.” It is often used in medical terms, especially in anatomy and pathology.

The form histo- comes from Greek histós, meaning “web (of a loom)” or “tissue.”

What are variants of histo-?

When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, histo- becomes hist-, as in histoid. In some rare instances, histo- becomes histio-, as in histioblast. Want to know more? Check out our Words That Use articles for hist- and histio-.

Examples of histo-

One example of a term from medicine that features the form histo- is histology, the branch of biology dealing with the study of tissues.

While histo- means “tissue,” the -logy portion refers to “study,” from Greek logía. Histology literally translates to “the study of tissue.”

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

• histoblast
• histocyte
• histodialysis
• histogram
• histolysis
• histomorphology

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

• hippo-
• hosp.
• hystero-

The word history and related terms begin with the letters histo- but do not use histo- as a combining form. Find out why history comes from the Greek word for “one who knows and sees” at our entry for the word.

Break it down!

The combining form -cyte means “cell.” With this in mind, what does the scientific term histocyte mean?