mon

Mon- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “alone, singular, one.” It is used in many technical and scientific terms.

Mono- comes from the Greek mónos, meaning “alone.”

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

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

A monarch is “a sole and absolute ruler of a state or nation,” such as a king or queen.

The first part of the word, mon-, means “alone, singular, one.” The second part, -arch, means “chief, leader, ruler.” Monarch literally translates to “single ruler.”

Monarch comes from the Greek mónarchos, using the equivalent form of mon- in the language.

What are some words that use the combining form mon-?

Many of the following terms use the equivalent form of mon- in Greek or Latin.

• monad
• monacid
• monoid
• monocle
• monocular
• monism
• moneme
• monody

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

• meno-
• mero-
• nano-
• nomo-

Not every word that begins with the exact letters mono- or mon- is necessarily using the combining form to denote “one,” e.g., monitor and monumental. Learn more about the Latin root of these words at our entries for them.

The word ocular refers to the “eyes.” With this in mind, what does monocular mean?