combining form

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com·bin·ing form

(kəm-bī′nĭng)

A modified form of an independent word that occurs only in combination with words, affixes, or other combining forms to form compounds or derivatives, as electro- (from electric) in electromagnet or geo- (from Greek geō-, from gē "earth") in geochemistry.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

combining form

(Grammar) a linguistic element that occurs only as part of a compound word, such as anthropo- in anthropology

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

combin′ing form`

a linguistic form that occurs only in combination with other forms and may conjoin with an independent word (mini- + skirt) or another combining form (photo- + -graphy). Compare affix (def. 5).

[1880–85]

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Noun

combining form - a bound form used only in compounds; "`hemato-' is a combining form in words like `hematology'"

decker - (often used in combinations) something constructed with multiple levels; "they rode in a double-decker bus"

ply - (usually in combinations) one of several layers of cloth or paper or wood as in plywood

bound form, bound morpheme - a morpheme that occurs only as part of a larger construction; eg an -s at the end of plural nouns

pounder - (used only in combination) something weighing a given number of pounds; "the fisherman caught a 10-pounder"; "their linemen are all 300-pounders"

footer - (used only in combinations) the height or length of something in feet; "he is a six-footer"; "the golfer sank a 40-footer"; "his yacht is a 60-footer"

yarder - (used only in combinations) the height or length of something in yards; "the golfer hit a 300-yarder to the green"

miler - (used only in combinations) the length of something in miles; "the race was a 30-miler"

columned - having or resembling columns; having columns of a specified kind (often used as a combining form); "a columned portico"; "trees with columned trunks"; "white-columned houses"

bedded - having a bed or beds as specified

friendly - easy to understand or use; "user-friendly computers"; "a consumer-friendly policy"; "a reader-friendly novel"

unfriendly - not easy to understand or use; "user-unfriendly"

hipped - having hips; or having hips as specified (usually in combination); "broad-hipped"

mini - used of women's clothing; very short with hemline above the knee; "a mini dress"; "miniskirts"

midi - used of women's clothing having a hemline at mid-calf; "midiskirts"; "wore her dresses midi length"

maxi - used of women's clothing having a hemline at the ankle; "wanted a maxi-length coat"; "a maxidress"

roofed - covered with a roof; having a roof as specified (often used in combination); "roofed picnic areas"; "a slate-roofed house"; "palmleaf-roofed huts"

tipped - having a tip; or having a tip as specified (used in combination); "a rubber-tipped cane"

radio - indicating radiation or radioactivity; "radiochemistry"

volumed - (often used in combination) consisting of or having a given number or kind of volumes; "the poet's volumed works"; "a two-volumed history"; "multi-volumed encyclopedias"; "large-volumed editions"

full, fully, to the full - to the greatest degree or extent; completely or entirely; (`full' in this sense is used as a combining form); "fully grown"; "he didn't fully understand"; "knew full well"; "full-grown"; "full-fledged"

good, well - (often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (`good' is a nonstandard dialectal variant for `well'); "the children behaved well"; "a task well done"; "the party went well"; "he slept well"; "a well-argued thesis"; "a well-seasoned dish"; "a well-planned party"; "the baby can walk pretty good"

ill, poorly, badly - (`ill' is often used as a combining form) in a poor or improper or unsatisfactory manner; not well; "he was ill prepared"; "it ill befits a man to betray old friends"; "the car runs badly"; "he performed badly on the exam"; "the team played poorly"; "ill-fitting clothes"; "an ill-conceived plan"

Translations

combining form

n → Affix nt, → Wortbildungselement nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

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