aux(o)-
Growth or increase.
[Greek auxein, to increase.]
An auxin is a plant hormone which regulates plant growth; an auxotroph (Greek trophos, feeder) is an organism that needs special nutrients to grow; auxesis is growth that results from an increase in cell size rather than of the number of cells; an auxochrome is a group of atoms introduced into a dyestuff to intensify its colour. Auxiliary, however, comes from Latin auxilium, help.
Visit Michael Quinion’s World Wide Words site for 2000+ articles on English!
Copyright © Michael Quinion 2008–. All rights reserved. Page last updated 23 September 2008.
Your comments and suggestions on the site are very welcome.