-kinesia

1. a combining form with the meaning “movement, muscular activity,” used in the formation of compound words:

   dyskinesia; hyperkinesia.

Word History and Origins

Origin of -kinesia¹

< Greek -kīnēsia, equivalent to kī́nēs ( is ) ( kinesis ) + -ia -ia

Words That Use -kinesia

What does -kinesia mean?

The combining form -kinesia [ ki-nee-zhuh ] is used like a suffix meaning “movement, muscular activity.” It is very occasionally used in medical terms, especially in pathology.

The form -kinesia comes from Greek -kīnēsia, roughly meaning “pathological movement,” from the verb kīneîn, “to move.” The Latin cognate of kīneîn is ciēre (stem cit-), meaning “to move, set in motion,” which is the source of words such as cite and resuscitate. To learn more, check out our entries for both words.

What are variants of -kinesia?

While not a variant of -kinesia, the form -kinesis, meaning “movement, activity,” as in telekinesis, comes from the same Greek root. The adjectival form of -kinesis is -kinetic, as in bradykinetic. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles about -kinesis and -kinetic.

Examples of -kinesia

One example of a term from pathology that uses the form -kinesia is hyperkinesia, “an abnormal amount of uncontrolled muscular action; spasm.”

The form hyper- may look familiar; it means “over,” in the sense of excess or exaggeration, from Greek hypér. The form -kinesia means “movement,” as we have already seen. Hyperkinesia literally translates to “over-movement” or, more plainly, “too much movement.”

What are some words that use the equivalent of the combining form -kinesia in Greek?

• akinesia
• dyskinesia
• tardive dyskinesia

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

• -cene
• -centric
• -genesis
• -ness

Break it down!

The combining form dys- means “ill” or “bad.” With this in mind, what does dyskinesia literally mean?