leuk-

1. variant of leuko- before a vowel.

Example Sentences

Thursday’s ceremony in France notably paid tribute to Diesel, a police dog killed in a raid targeting the mastermind of the Paris attacks in 2015, and to Leuk, an assault dog of the French military killed by an extremist in Mali in 2019.

From Seattle Times

The police chief in Kandal’s Leuk Daek district, Am Thou, said the accident occurred as the boat was approaching the shore.

From Seattle Times

Mak Leuk’s parents died of disease when she was 11 years old.

From Seattle Times

When she was in high school, Ma Syloun visited the court with her mother, Mak Leuk, whose younger sister was taken in for questioning by the Khmer Rouge and never seen again.

From Seattle Times

At Ma Simet’s funeral in late January, in a shaded pagoda complex rebuilt after the Khmer Rouge destroyed it, his mother, Mak Leuk, received the mourners.

From Seattle Times

Words That Use Leuk-

What does leuk- mean?

Leuk- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “white” or “white blood cell.” It is often used in medical terms, especially in pathology.

Leuk- comes from the Greek leukós, meaning “white, bright.”

Leuk- is a variant of leuko-, which loses its -o– when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels.

The combining form leuc-, as in leucoline, is a common variant of leuk-.

Want to know more? Read our Words That Use leuko-, leuc-, and leuco- articles.

Examples of leuk-

Leukemia, sometimes spelled leucemia, is a type of cancer of the bone marrow that prevents the normal manufacture of red and white blood cells and platelets. It results in anemia, increased susceptibility to infection, and impaired blood clotting.

The English word leukemia comes immediately from the German Leukämie, a term in turn based on the Greek leukós, source of leuk-.

What about the -emia portion of leukemia? It is a combining form that denotes a condition of the blood, and ultimately comes from the Greek root haîma, meaning “blood.” Hematology, the study of blood, is another word you may have come across that also comes from  Greek.

So, putting it all back together, leukemia has the literal sense of “(disease of) white blood (cells).”

What are some words that use or are related to the combining form leuk-?

• leukemid
• leukoma (using the equivalent form of leuko- in New Latin)
• leukemogenesis
• leukemoid
• leukon
• leukosis
• leukotic

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

• lepto-
• lipo-

Break it down!

The suffix –osis is used to indicate abnormal states, especially diseases. Leukosis is a disease that chiefly affects chicken. What part of the body does it affect?