apo-

Away from; separate from.

[Greek apo, off, from, or away.]

The prefix often occurs in words borrowed from Greek, as in apostasy (Greek apostasis, defection), the abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief or principle; apostrophe, a mark to show where one or more letters have been missed out (Greek strephein, to turn, so a mark of turning away, an elision); apostle (Greek apostolos, messenger); apoplexy (from plēssein, to strike, hence ‘struck down’).

A number of coinages appear in modern scientific English: apoptosis (Greek ptōsis, falling or a fall, hence a falling away or decay), the death of cells which occurs as a normal part of an organism's development; apomixis (Greek mixis, mingling), asexual reproduction in plants; and apocarpous (Greek karpos, fruit), of a flower or fruit that has its carpels separate.

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