Affixes: -sphere

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-sphere

A broadly spherical object or region.

[English sphere, derived from Greek sphaira, ball.]

The larger proportion of common words in -sphere refer to the Earth, such as atmosphere or biosphere. Several others refer to regions of a star, such as photosphere. Others are general terms relating to a spherical object or region: hemisphere. For more details and additional examples, Adjectives are formed either in -speric (atmospheric, ionospheric), or less commonly in -spherical (hemispherical).

Examples of words in -sphere
Word origins are from Greek unless otherwise stated.

*atmosphere*	the envelope of gases surrounding the earth or another planet	atmos, vapour
*biosphere*	the regions of the surface and atmosphere of the earth or another planet occupied by living organisms	bios, life
*hemisphere*	a half of a sphere	hēmi-, half
*ionosphere*	the layer of the earth's atmosphere which contains a high concentration of ions and free electrons and is able to reflect radio waves	English ion
*lithosphere*	the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle	lithos, stone
*magnetosphere*	the region surrounding the earth or another astronomical body in which its magnetic field is the predominant effective magnetic field	English magnet
*photosphere*	the luminous envelope of a star from which its light and heat radiate	phōs, phōt-, light
*stratosphere*	the layer of the earth's atmosphere above the troposphere, extending to about 50 km above the earth's surface	Latin stratus, strewn
*troposphere*	the lowest region of the atmosphere, extending from the earth's surface to a height of about 6-10 km	tropos, turning

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