colo-

¹

1. a combining form representing colon ² in compound words:

   colostomy.

Colo.

²

abbreviation for

1. Colorado.

Colo.

¹

abbreviation for

1. Colorado

colo-

²

combining_form

1. indicating the colon

   colostomy

   colotomy

Example Sentences

The researchers, including scientists at NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System in Boulder, Colo., wrote that human-caused warming has “ushered in an era of temperature-dominated droughts.”

From Los Angeles Times

They include 15-year-old Kamberlyn Bowler of Grand Junction, Colo., who has been hospitalized for almost two weeks with hemolytic uremic syndrome, a condition that damages the blood vessels in the kidneys.

From Los Angeles Times

At a campaign rally earlier this month in Aurora, Colo., Trump said he would invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 “to target and dismantle every migrant criminal network operating on American soil.”

From Los Angeles Times

Trump used the phrase on Maria Bartiromo’s Sunday morning program and at his rally in Aurora, Colo., on Friday.

From Salon

I drove through New Mexico, where Latinos have farmed since before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, and spent time in tiny Antonito, Colo., home to the oldest Latino civil rights group in the country.

From Los Angeles Times

Words That Use colo-

What does colo- mean?

Colo- is a combining form used like a prefix representing the word colon, the part of the large intestine extending from the cecum to the rectum. It is often used in medical terms.

Colo- comes from the Greek kólon, meaning “large intestine.” The Greek kólon is also the source of such words as colic and colicky, a word which many parents may know all too well.

What are variants of colo-?

When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, colo- becomes col-, as in colitis.

Examples of colo-

An example of a word you may have encountered that features colo- is coloptosis, also known as a prolapse (falling down) of the colon.

We know colo- represents “colon.” What about -ptosis? The -ptosis part of the word refers to “a falling,” from the Greek ptṓsis. Coloptosis literally translates to “colon falling.”

Another common word that features colo- is colorectal, as in colorectal cancer. The –rectal part of the word refers to the rectum. And a coloscopy is another word for a colonoscopy, an important (if very, um, personal) visual inspection of the interior of the colon with a flexible, lighted tube inserted through the rectum.

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

• colocentesis
• colocolostomy
• colopuncture
• colopexostomy
• colopexy
• coloproctitis
• coloproctostomy
• colostomy
• colostomy bag

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

• collo-
• colpo-

Not every word that begins with the exact letters colo- or col- is necessarily using the combining form colo- to represent “colon.” For starters, the word colony and related terms come from Latin for “farmer.”

As if that wasn’t confusing enough, col- is commonly used as a variant of the prefix com- (“with, together”) before the letter –l-, as in collaborate.

Break it down!

The combining form -tomy means “cutting” or “incision.” With this in mind, what kind of surgical procedure is a colotomy?