| a prefix occurring originally in loanwords from Greek, where it was joined to verbs, deverbal forms, and other parts of speech. Among its functions in Greek, apo- has the spatial sense “away, off, apart” (apogee; apocope; apostasy; apostrophe); it occurs with deverbals that denote a response or defense (apodosis; apology) and is found on verbs having perfective force relative to a corresponding simple verb (apoplexy; aposiopesis). In modern scientific coinages in English and other languages, apo- marks things that are detached, separate, or derivative (apocarpous; apoenzyme). |
| apo- or ap- pref.
[Greek, from apo, away from; see apo- in Indo-European roots.] |
apo- or ap-
pref.
Away from; off: aponeurosis.
Separate: apocrine.
Without; lacking; not: apoferritin.
Related to; derived from: apomorphine.
