carp

The combining form -carp is used like a suffix to refer to fruit or a fruiting body. A fruiting body is an organ that produces spores, which develops into a part of a fruit. It is often used in scientific terms, especially in biology and botany.

The combining form -carp ultimately comes from the Greek karpós, meaning “fruit.” The combining form -carpic is used to form adjectives of words ending in -carp. Equivalent to -carpic is -carpous, meaning “fruited.”

Want to know more? Read our Words That Use -carpic and -carpous articles.

An example of a word from biology that features -carp is monocarp, meaning “a plant that dies after having once borne fruit.”

The first part of the word, mono–, might look familiar. It means “single” or “one.” The second part, –carp, means “fruit,” as we now know. Monocarp literally translates to “one fruit.”

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

• angiocarp
• apocarp
• basidiocarp
• cystocarp
• endocarp
• epicarp
• exocarp
• mericarp
• sarcocarp
• sporocarp

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

• capri-
• cap.

You probably associate carp with a fish more than a fruit—or with a whole lot of complaining! We can’t quibble with those associations, but neither of these senses of carp are related to the combining form -carp.

The combining form exo- means “outside,” “outer,” or “external.” With this in mind, what is the exocarp of an orange?