-ides Also -oides.
Plant and animal genera.
[Greek plural ending -eidēs, related to eidos, form.]
Terms often contain the linking vowel -o-, present in many Greek source words. Examples are Anthropoides, the genus of the demoiselle cranes; Lampides, the genus containing the long-tailed blue butterfly; Bacteroides, a genus of bacteria, normally living in the body, which can cause severe infection.
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.