The building blocks of English

Affixes

ankylo-

Also anchylo‑ and ancyclo-.

Bent or crooked; stiff or fixed.

Greek ankulos, crooked.

Ankylosis (sometimes anchylosis) is abnormal stiffening and immobility of a joint due to fusion of the bones; ankylosing spondylitis is an inflammatory disease of the spine that often causes it to bend forwards; ankyloglossia (Greek glōssa, tongue), also called tongue-tie, is an impeded motion of the tongue. An ankylosaur is a Cretaceous dinosaur (literally, ‘crooked lizard’). The spelling ankylo‑ is now the usual one.