glyco-

Glyco– is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “sugar” or “glucose and its derivatives.” Glucose is a sugar found in many fruits, animal tissues and fluids, and other sources. Glyco– is often used in scientific terms, especially in chemistry.

Glyco– comes from Greek glykýs, meaning “sweet.” The Latin translation (and perhaps cognate) of glykýs is dulcis, “sweet,” which is the source of sweetness-related terms such as dulcet and, through Italian, dolce vita. To learn more, check out our entries for both words.

What are variants of glyco-?

When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, glyco– becomes glyc-, as in glycin.

Less common variants of glyco– are gluco- and gluc-, as in glucolipid and glucan.

Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles on glyc-, gluco-, and gluc-.

An example of a scientific term that uses the form glyco– is glycogen, also called animal starch, “a white, tasteless polysaccharide, constituting the principal carbohydrate storage material in animals.”

We know glyco– means “sugar,” and the -gen portion of the word means “that which produces,” from Greek –genēs. Glycogen literally translates to “that which produces sugar.”

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

• glycocalyx
• glycocholate
• glycogenetic
• glycolyl
• glycotransferase
• glycotrophic

What are some other forms that glyco– may be commonly confused with?

• glio-
• glosso-
• glotto-
• gymno-
• gyro-
• leuco-
• lyso-

The combining form -genetic means “of or relating to an origin, creation, or beginning.” With this in mind, what does glycogenetic literally mean?