OT

Ot- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “ear.” It is often used in medical terms, especially in anatomy and pathology.

Ot- comes from the Greek oûs, meaning “ear.” Related to the Greek oûs is English’s own word ear; so is the Latin word for ear, auris, which is the ultimate source of such words as aural. Learn more about oûs at our entry for otic, an adjective used in anatomy meaning “of or relating to the ear.”

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

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

A word that features ot- which you may be familiar with is otalgia, a medical term for “earache.”

Since you’re all ears, you already know that ot- means “ear.” The rest of the word, -algia, from the Greek álgos, means “pain.” Otalgia literally translates to “ear pain.”

What are some terms that use the combining form ot-?

• otitis
• otitis externa
• otitis interna
• otitis media

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

• octo-
• omo-
• auto-

Just because a word begins with ot- does not necessarily mean it is using ot- as a combining form meaning “ear.” Consider otiose, meaning “idle, indolent.”

Discover the surprising connection between the adjective otiose and the verb negotiate at our entry for the latter word.

The combining form -itis is used to denote inflammation. With this in mind, what does the medical condition otitis involve?