-coele
AmericanUsage
What does -coele mean? The combining form -coele is used like a suffix meaning “cavity.” It is occasionally used in medical terms, especially in pathology.The form -coele comes from Greek koîlos, meaning “hollow.” The Latin equivalent is cavus, also meaning “hollow,” which is the source of words such as cavity and concave. To learn more, check out our entries for both words.What are variants of -coele?In some cases, the form -coele drops the -o- to become -cele, as in pseudocele. In other variant spellings, -coele is spelled without the final -e, becoming -coel. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles on -cele and -coel.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.