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 M  

-megaly Also -megalia and -megalic.

Abnormal enlargement of part of the body.

[Greek megas, megal-, great.]

Examples include acromegaly (Greek akron, tip, extremity), abnormal growth of the hands, feet, and face; cardiomegaly (Greek kardia, heart), abnormal enlargement of the heart; and hepatomegaly (Greek hēpar, hēpat-, liver), of the liver. The spelling -megalia is a rarer alternative: hepatomegalia, cardiomegalia. Related adjectives in either case are formed in -megalic: acromegalic, cytomegalic, characterized by enlarged cells, especially with reference to a disease caused by a cytomegalovirus.

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.