-plasty

1. a combining form with the meanings “molding, formation” “surgical repair, plastic surgery,” used in the formation of compound words:

   angioplasty; galvanoplasty; heteroplasty.

-plasty

combining form

1. indicating plastic surgery involving a bodily part, tissue, or a specified process

   neoplasty

   rhinoplasty

Word History and Origins

Origin of -plasty¹

< Greek -plastia. See -plast, -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of -plasty¹

from Greek -plastia; see -plast

Example Sentences

I begun to have a suspicion the stuff was made of sawdust with plasty of Paris fur frostin'.

From Project Gutenberg

Words That Use -plasty

What does -plasty mean?

The combining form –plasty is used like a suffix meaning “molding, formation.” In medical terms, –plasty is often used in the sense of “surgical repair, plastic surgery.” Contrary to popular belief, the plastic in plastic surgery does not refer to the use of the material plastic. Rather, plastic in this sense means “the art of modeling figures.”

The form –plasty comes from Greek –plastia, meaning “formed” or “molded.” Find out how –plastia is related to plasma, plaster, and plastic at our entry for each word.

What are variants of –plasty?

The form -plasty does not have any variants. However, it is related to the forms –plasm, –plasia, –plasy, –plast, and –plastic. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles for those forms.

Examples of -plast

An example of a word you may have encountered that features –plasty is rhinoplasty, “plastic surgery of the nose.”

As you may have guessed, the form rhino– means “nose,” from Greek rhī́s. The form –plasty means “plastic surgery.” Rhinoplasty literally translates to “plastic surgery of the nose.”

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

• anaplasty (using the equivalent form of -plasty in Greek)
• arterioplasty
• bronchoplasty
• enteroplasty
• genioplasty
• homoplasty
• hymenoplasty
• vaginoplasty

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

• -phily
• -plasy

Break it down!

The combining form entero– means “intestine.” With that in mind, what does enteroplasty mean?