-plex

1. a combining form meaning “having parts or units” of the number specified by the initial element, occurring originally in loanwords from Latin ( duplex; quadruplex ); recent English coinages ending in -plex, especially denoting structures with a given number of dwelling units, are probably in part new formations with this suffix and in part based on the noun complex: fourplex; eightplex; Cineplex; Metroplex.

Word History and Origins

Origin of -plex¹

< Latin -plex, -plic- (akin to plicāre to fold, bend, plectere to plait, braid; -fold ) + -s nominative singular ending

Example Sentences

Yup, it was right there, within that eight-plex apartment building, where the Ebola outbreak in Dallas refused to die.

From The Daily Beast

Words That Use -plex

What does -plex mean?

The combining form –plex is used like a suffix meaning “having parts or units.” It is often used in technical terms, especially to name buildings.

The form –plex comes from Latin plicāre, meaning “to fold” or “to bend.” When –plex is used to denote a kind of building, the form –plex comes in part from a shortened form of complex, in the sense of “an intricate or complicated association or assemblage of related things, parts, units, etc.” Complex comes from Latin complexus meaning “inclusion, grasping, embrace.”

Examples of -plex

One example of a technical term that uses the form –plex is googolplex, “a number that is equal to 1 followed by a googol of zeros and expressed as 10googol.”

The word googol means “a number that is equal to 1 followed by 100 zeros.” As we know, –plex means “having parts or units.” Googolplex literally translates to “having 10googol parts.”

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

• diplex
• duplex (using the equivalent form of –plex in Latin)
• Metroplex
• multiplex (using the equivalent form of –plex in Latin)
• simplex (using the equivalent form of –plex in Latin)
• triplex (using the equivalent form of –plex in Latin)

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

• -pexy
• -plegia
• -plegic

Break it down!

The combining form tri– means “three.” With this in mind, what does triplex literally mean?