neph-

1. variant of nepho- before a vowel:

   nephanalysis.

Example Sentences

Skipper fired 10 yards to Cole Neph and Walker kicked a 38-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 27-20, but Arkansas State stopped Keylon Stokes in the end zone for a safety to put the game out of reach.

From Washington Times

Skipper had just hit Cole Neph on a 14-yard scoring strike to retake the lead.

From Washington Times

Actually, the Neph are from Stevenage, and let's face it, are about as authentic as Shaky, but this 14-year-old was hooked.

From The Guardian

According to Mr. Wilkinson, the Egyptians held Kneph, Neph, Nef, or Chnoubus, “as the idea of the Spirit of God which moved upon the face of the waters.”

From Project Gutenberg

From Chaldea the worship passed into Egypt, where the serpent deity was called Canoph, Caneph, and C’neph.

From Project Gutenberg

Words That Use neph-

What does neph- mean?

Neph- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “cloud.” It is often used in atmospheric science, especially meteorology.

Neph- comes from the Greek néphos, meaning “a cloud, mass of clouds.”

Neph- is a variant of nepho-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use nepho- article.

Examples of neph-

An example of a word you may have seen that features neph- is nephanalysis. That principally means “a map or chart showing the distribution of types and amounts of clouds and precipitation at a given time.”

Unless your head has been in the clouds so far, you know that the first half of the word, neph-, means “cloud.” The second part of the word is analysis, a method of studying something. So, a nephanalysis is an analysis—an examination—of the clouds and precipitation over an area at a given time.
Learn more about the many meanings of analysis at our entry for the word.

What are some other words that share a word element with neph-?

• isoneph
• nepheline
• nephelinite
• nephelometer

 

Even though it begins with the same letters, the word nephew does not use the combining form neph-. Learn what nephew is related to at our entry for this word.

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

• nephr-
• nephro-
• nympho-

Break it down!

In Greek mythology, Nephele was a nymph formed by the god Zeus to tempt a king named Ixion. Given the meaning of neph-, what substance was Nephele made of?