-odus

1. variant of -odont, especially in the names of genera in zoology:

   ceratodus.

Word History and Origins

Origin of -odus¹

< New Latin < Greek -odous; -odont

Example Sentences

"This is a calculated move by Paxton to change the election results because a race flipped in favor of Democrats during the final count," Harris County Democratic Party Chair Odus Evbagharu said in a statement.

From Salon

Odus Evbagharu, the county’s Democratic Party chair, said a law passed by Republican state lawmakers last year requiring new voting machines, paper ballots, additional oversight and criminal penalties worsened the burden on local election officials, especially poll workers who were more hesitant to work.

From Washington Post

“Instead of getting two seats that should be majority-minority districts, which should be majority Hispanic districts, they drew that seat to make it easier for Wes Hunt to be a member of Congress,” said Odus Evbagharu, the head of the Harris County Democratic Party.

From New York Times

Odus Davidson’s tombstone in Boone County made more sense after a little research, Burnett said.

From Washington Times

Words That Use -odus

What does -odus mean?

The combining form -odus is used like a suffix meaning “toothed” or “having teeth.” It is used in some scientific terms, especially in the names of genera in zoology.

The form -odus ultimately comes from the Greek odoús, meaning “tooth.” The Latin word for “tooth” is dēns, source of the combining forms denti- and dento-.

The form -odus is a variant of -odont.

Want to know more? Read our Words That Use -odont article.

A corresponding form of -odont combined to the beginning of words is odonto-, which you can learn more about in our Words That Use article for the form.

Examples of -odus

One example of a scientific term that features the combining form -odus is ceratodus, a kind of lungfish.

The first part of the word, cerat-, means “horned.” As we have seen, the combining form -odus means “toothed.” Ceratodus literally translates to “having horned (as in ‘spiky’) teeth.”

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

 

• Neoceratodus
• Ctenodus
• Ecterodus

 

 

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

• -odynia
• dendro-
• odyno-
• onto-

Other words, such as exodus, end in the letters odus but are not using -odus as a combining form to mean “toothed.” For example, exodus is one of those words. Learn more about it at our entry for the word.

Break it down!

The combining form cteno- means “comb.” With this and the meaning of –odus in mind, what does the genus name Ctenodus literally mean?