psychro-

Psychro- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “cold.” It is used in some medical and scientific terms.

Psychro- comes from the Greek psȳchrós, meaning “cold.” It comes from the Greek psȳ́chein meaning “to blow.” This verb is also the source of the word psykter, an ancient Greek vessel for cooling wine. The verb is also ultimately the source of such words as psyche and psychology.

One example of a scientific term that features the combining form psychro- is psychroalgia, “a painful sensation of cold.”

We know psychro- means “cold.” What about the -algia portion of the word? The combining form -algia means “pain,” from the Greek álgos. Psychroalgia literally translates to “pain from cold.”

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

• psychrometer
• psychrometry
• pyschrophile
• psychrophilic
• psychrophore

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

• pachy-
• psycho-
• pycno-

The combining form -phile means “loving, having a strong affinity for something.” What type of an environment does an organism known as a psychrophile grow best in?