paed(o)- Also ped(o)-, especially in the US.

Child; relating to children.

[Greek pais, paid-, child, boy.]

The part of medicine called paediatrics deals with children and their diseases, while paedodontics (Greek odous, odont-, tooth) is the branch of dentistry that deals with children's teeth. A pedagogue is an old term for a teacher, especially a strict or pedantic one, but in ancient Greece meant a slave (paidagōgos) who accompanied a child to school (Greek agōgos, guide). A paedophile is a person sexually attracted to children, while pederasty (less commonly paederasty) (Greek erastēs, lover) is sexual activity involving a man and a boy. In zoology, paedogenesis, also called neoteny, refers to an animal that becomes sexually mature while it is still in its larval or juvenile form.

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