Go to 'thermo-' entry Go to 'dino-' entry Go to 'chondro-' entry Go to 'aero-' entry Go to '-logy' entry Go to 'thaumato-' entry Go to 'nano-' entry Go to '-sophy' entry Go to 'bucco-' entry Go to '-ism' entry Go to '-lysis' entry Go to 'galacto-' entry Go to '-anthropy' entry Go to 'pneumo-' entry Go to '-ploitation' entry Go to '-lithic' entry Go to '-sepalous' entry Go to 'onco-' entry Go to '-parous' entry Go to 'dermato-' entry Go to 'multi-' entry Go to 'dodeca-' entry Go to '-zoon' entry Go to 'vermi-' entry Go to 'crystallo-' entry Go to 'biblio-' entry Go to 'eco-' entry Go to 'juxta-' entry Go to 'facio-' entry
Affixes: the building blocks of English
Affixes: the building blocks of English
  Home Introduction About the author Types of affixes Thematic indexes Search the site   A B C D E F G H I JK L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z   Previous entry Next entry Up to index of H  

homo-1

The same.

[Greek homos, same.]

Things that are homogeneous are of the same kind or alike; to homogenize something is to make all its parts uniform or similar (as in bringing the fat droplets in milk to a common small size so it emulsifies); things that are homocentric have the same centre (but see the next entry); those that are homologous (Greek logos, ratio or proportion) are of the same essential nature.

Someone homosexual is sexually attracted to a person of her or her own sex (as opposed to heterosexual, see hetero-). The link between homo- and homosexuality is sufficiently strong that in a few terms the prefix relates specifically to it: homoerotic, concerning or arousing sexual desire centred on a person of the same sex; and homophobia, an irrational aversion to homosexuality and homosexuals.

This and the sense explained in the next entry are sometimes confused.

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.