cephalous

The combining form -cephalous is used like a suffix meaning “having a head or heads.” It is used in some medical and scientific terms.

The form -cephalous comes from the Greek kephalḗ, meaning “head.”

What are variants of –cephalous?

A variant of -cephalous is -cephalic, as in monocephalic.

Want to know more? Read our Words That Use -cephalic article.

Corresponding forms of -cephalous combined to the beginning of words are cephalo- and cephal-, which you can learn more about in our Words That Use articles for each form.

Also deriving from kephalḗ are the combining forms encephalo- and encephal-, meaning “brain.” Discover how these forms are used in our Words That Use encephalo- and encephal- articles.

One example of a term in botany and zoology that uses -cephalous is bicephalous, meaning “having two heads.” When an organism is bicephalous, it is generally the result of a rare congenital disorder.

You may be familiar already with the combining form bi-, meaning “two.” The second part of the word, -cephalous, means “having a head.” Bicephalous literally translates to “having two heads.”

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

• acephalous
• anencephalous
• autocephalous (from the Greek autoképhalos, “having its own head,” and referring to a church with its own chief bishop)

The combining form -cephalous should not be confused with syphilis, a disease usually contracted through sexual intercourse.

The prefix a- can mean “not” or “without.” With this in mind, what does acephalous mean?