phyl-

¹

1. variant of phylo- before a vowel:

   phylic.

-phyl

²

1. variant of -phyll.

Example Sentences

As Phyl Garland wrote in Ebony, Gordone “came equipped with a loaded pistol and a whole barrel of ‘MF’s’.

From New York Times

Reviewing “Evolution” in The Pittsburgh Courier, the critic Phyl Garland praised Mr. Moncur’s technique and the album’s title number, which, she wrote, evoked images of “mankind emerging from one murky, primeval mire into another, undergoing one subtle change after another, as does the music.”

From New York Times

And Amiri Baraka and Phyl Garland wed Black nationalist desire with fierce, experimental music criticism in the Black Arts era.

From New York Times

The furniture store that Rubin founded with his wife in 1983 grew into the Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture chain, with nine locations across New England.

From Seattle Times

Strangers would often recognize them at restaurants and recite the catchphrase: “Oh, are you Bernie from Bernie and Phyl’s, quality, comfort and price?”

From Seattle Times

Words That Use -phyl

What does -phyl mean?

The combining form –phyl is used like a suffix meaning “leaf.” It is occasionally used in scientific terms, especially in biology.

The form –phyl comes from Greek phýllon, meaning “leaf.” The Latin cognate of phýllon is folium, also meaning “leaf,” which is the source of words such as foil, foliage, and folio. To learn more, check out our entries for these three terms.

What are variants of –phyl?

In most instances, –phyl is spelled with an additional terminal –l, becoming –phyll, as in microphyll.

When combined as the first element of the word, the form –phyl becomes phyllo– or phyll–, as in phyllophore. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles on –phyl, phyllo-, and phyl-.

Examples of -phyl

An example of a term you may have come across that features the form –phyl is chlorophyl, also spelled chlorophyll, “the green coloring matter of leaves and plants.”

The chloro– part of the word chlorophyl means “green,” from Greek chlōrós. As we have seen, the form –phyl means “leaf.” Chlorophyl literally translates to “green leaf.”

What are some words that use the combining form –phyl?

• coleophyl
• sporophyl
• xanthophyl (using the equivalent form of –phyll in French)

What are some other forms that –phyll may be commonly confused with?

• -phily
• -phyte

Break it down!

The combining form xantho– means “yellow.” With this in mind, what does xanthophyl literally mean?