5. Etymology

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This is dedicated to those who have too much to memorise… especially those whose first language is not English.

Major Topic	Prefix	Meaning	Example (Subtopic)
Cell biology	Inter-	Between	Intermolecular(A1.1), interphase(D2.1), intercostal(B3.3)
	Endo-	Inside	Endocytosis(B2.1), endosymbiosis(A2.2), endocrine (C2.1)
	Exo-	Outside	Exocytosis(B2.1), exoskeleton
Molecular biology	Hydro-	Water	Hydrolysis(B1.1), hydrophilic(B2.1), hydrophobic(B2.1), hydrostatic(D2.3)
	Trans-	Across	Transcription(D1.2), translation(D1.2), translocation(B3.2)
Biomolecules	Macro-	Big	Macromolecule(C1.2), macrophage(C3.2)
	Mono-	One	monomer (B1.1), monosaccharide(B1.1), monozygotic (D2.2)
	Poly-	Many	Polymer(B1.1), polypeptide(B1.2), polyploidy(A4.1)
Cell respiration	Glyco-	Sugar	Glycolysis(C1.2), glycoprotein(B2.1), glycogen(B1.1)
Photosynthesis	Chloro-	Green	Chloroplast(C1.3), chlorophyll(C1.3)
	Photo-	Light	Photosynthesis(C1.3), photolysis(C1.3), photosystem(C1.3)
Viruses	Retro-	Back	Retrovirus(A2.3), retrotransposon(A2.3)
Physiology	Hemo-	Blood	Hemoglobin(B3.1), hemophilia(D3.2), hemostasis(C3.2)
	Epi-	In addition to, Outermost	Epigenetics(D2.2), epidermis(B3.2), epithelium(D3.1)
Immunity	Anti-	Opposite	Antigen(C3.2), antibody(C3.2), anticodon(D1.2)
Genetics	Hetero-	Different	Heterozygous(D3.2), heterotrophic(C4.2)
	Homo-	Same	Homozygous(D3.2), homologous(D2.1)

Major Topic	Suffix	Meaning	Example
Molecular biology	-lysis	Split	Hydrolysis(B1.1), catalysis(C1.1), glycolysis(C1.2)
DNA replication	-ase	Enzyme	Helicase(D1.1), polymerase(D1.1), kinase(C2.1)
Membrane transport	-cytosis	Related to cell	Endocytosis(B2.1), exocytosis(B2.1), phagocytosis(C3.2), pinocytosis(B2.1)
Reproduction	-cyte	Cell	Oocyte(D3.1), spermatocyte(D3.1), pneumocyte(B2.3)
Gene expression	-ome	Complete set	Genome(D2.2), proteome(D2.2), transcriptome(D2.2)
Ecology	-troph	Food	Autotroph(C4.2), heterotroph(C4.2), saprotroph(B4.2)

Some atypical singular/plural examples include:

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Medium/media, mitochondrion/mitochondria, flagellum/flagella, bacterium/bacteria

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Nucleus/nuclei, pilus/pili, alveolus/alveoli, bronchus/bronchi, fungus/fungi, locus/loci

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Stoma/stomata, plasmodesma/plasmodesmata

Common prefixes used with SI units