The building blocks of English

Affixes

carb(o)-

Carbon.

English carbon, from Latin carbo, coal or charcoal.

Carbohydrates are a large group of compounds that includes sugars and starches, which contain carbon together with hydrogen and oxygen in the same proportions as in water (hence hydrate, from Greek hudōr, water). A carbide is a compound of carbon with a metal, such as calcium carbide, once used to generate acetylene gas in vehicle lamps; carbazole is a colourless substance obtained from coal tar, used in dye production; carbamazepine is a synthetic benzodiazepine, used as an anticonvulsant and analgesic drug.