lepto

¹

[ lep-toh ]

noun

, Informal.

1. leptospirosis.

lepto-

²

1. a combining form meaning “thin,” “fine,” “slight,” used in the formation of compound words:

   leptophyllous.

lepto-

combining_form

1. fine, slender, or slight

   leptosome

Word History and Origins

Origin of lepto¹

By shortening

Origin of lepto²

< Greek lepto-, combining form of leptós thin, slight, fine, literally, stripped, equivalent to lép ( ein ) to strip + -tos adj. suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of lepto¹

from Greek leptos thin, literally: peeled, from lepein to peel

Example Sentences

“If you have a private backyard, if your pet is in the parks, if your pet likes to sniff around garbage, drink from standing puddles, get a lepto vaccine,” she said.

From New York Times

“Then a concerned dog owner came up to me and told me that a few puppies have passed away from lepto recently, so we all got out of there.”

From New York Times

In the eight weeks since the storm hit, clean water has been so scarce that the 3.4 million Americans in Puerto Rico have been forced to drink from streams and rivers – all of which can be a breeding ground for lepto.

From MSNBC

Today, Dr. Deseda tells us the CDC identified 14 cases of lepto in patients who are alive and fighting the disease, plus two cases where the patient died.

From MSNBC

These two new deaths of lepto did not change the overall death toll; they had already been counted, but now we have an official ruling on the diagnosis.

From MSNBC

Words That Use lepto-

What does lepto- mean?

Lepto- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “thin, fine, slight.” It is used in medical, scientific, and other technical terms.

Lepto- comes from the Greek leptós, variously meaning “thin, slight, fine, small,” with a literal sense of “stripped.” Leptós is also the source of leptin, a hormone thought to suppress appetite and speed up metabolism.

What are variants of lepto-?

When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, lepto- can become lept-.

Examples of lepto-

One example of a term that features the combining form lepto- is leptocyte. A leptocyte is an abnormally thin or flattened red blood cell having a central rounded pigmented area, a middle pigmentless zone, and a pigmented edge.

The first part of the word, lepto-, can mean “thin,” as we’ve seen. The combining form –cyte might look familiar, too; it means “cell.” Leptocyte, then, literally translates to “thin cell.”

Another word that uses lepto- is leptospirosis, an infectious disease that can cause fever, muscle pain, jaundice, and more sometimes more severe liver and kidney problems  in humans, dogs, horses, pigs, and other animals. Popularly known as lepto for short, leptospirosis takes its name from leptospira, a kind of spiral-shaped bacteria that can cause the disease. Dogs commonly get leptospirosis from exposure to water, soil, urine, and rodents carrying the bacteria; antibiotics can help treat leptospirosis and a vaccine can help prevent it.

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

• leptocephaly
• leptocytosis
• leptodactylous
• leptokurtic
• leptophyllous

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

• leuko-
• lipo-
• lympho-

Break it down!

The combining form –phyllous means “having leaves.” With this in mind, what kind of leaves does a leptophyllous plant have?