Word origins

• scialyticDispelling shadows.
• sciathericBelonging or relating to a sundial.
• ScillusAn ancient town in Greece, now an archaeological site.
• sciopticOf or relating to an optical arrangement for forming images in a darkened room.
• sciosophyFalse or pretended knowledge of science or natural phenomena.
• sclero-sclerous; hard
• sclerobaseThe calcareous or hornlike coral forming the central stem or axis of most compound alcyonarians.
• sclerodermOne of a tribe of plectognath fishes (Sclerodermi) having the skin covered with hard scales, or plates, such as the cowfish and trunkfish.
• scleromainduration of the tissues
• scleroskeletonThat part of the skeleton which is developed in tendons, ligaments, and aponeuroses.
• scoleciteA monoclinic-domatic mineral containing aluminum, calcium, hydrogen, oxygen, and silicon.
• scolecologyThe scientific study of worms.
• scolio-Crooked, bent, or winding; relating to scoliosis or other lateral deviations.
• scoliteA fossil worm or its trace.
• scolithusA tubular structure found in sedimentary rocks, such as sandstone, believed to be the fossil burrow of a marine worm.
• scombroidPertaining to mackerel.
• -scopeUsed to make terms denoting an instrument used for viewing or examination.
• scopophobicOf or relating to scopophobia.
• scopticalJeering; jesting; jokey.
• -scopyobservation, viewing
• scoroditeAn orthorhombic-dipyramidal mineral containing arsenic, hydrogen, iron, and oxygen.
• scorpioidOf, pertaining to, or appearing like a scorpion.
• scoticAfter dusk.
• scoto-darkness
• scotomydizziness with dimness of sight
• scybalaa hardened mass of feces
• scyphistomaAn individual cell in a stage of the life cycle of a true jellyfish (class Scyphozoa), a colony of such cells, when it resembles a polyp and breeds asexually by strobilation.
• scyphusA kind of large drinking cup used in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, especially by poor people.
• scytodepsicRelating to tanning; applied to tannin and gallic acid.
• Sea of MarmaraA deep inland sea in north-western Turkey connecting the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via the straits of Bosphorus and Dardanelles.
• secotiaceousOf or relating to the Secotiaceae, now subsumed into Agaricaceae.
• secotioidRelating to fungi of the genus Secotium
• seirosporeOne of several spores arranged in a chain, as in certain algae.
• SeisachtheiaA set of laws in Ancient Greece that cancelled existing debts, ended debt-related slavery, and returned confiscated serf property.
• seismo-Pertaining to an earthquake.
• selachophobiaUnreasonable fear or dislike of sharks.
• selen-moon
• selenelionA lunar eclipse occurring as the Moon sets, simultaneously with sunrise.
• sema-Communicating meaning.
• semantronA percussion instrument used chiefly in Eastern Orthodox monasteries to summon the brethren to prayer or to lead processions.
• semasiographyThe use of symbols to communicate information, such as with musical or mathematical notation, road signs, or emojis.
• semasiologySemantics; a discipline within linguistics concerned with the meaning of a word independent of its phonetic expression.
• sematicActing as a sign of danger.
• sememeThe smallest unit of meaning; especially, the meaning expressed by a morpheme.
• semio-semiotics
• semostomousHaving long oral processes.
• senonesA Gaulish tribe in the Roman period.
• sestiadOne of six parts.
• sialadenoncusA tumor or swelling of a salivary gland.
• sialo-saliva; salivary
• sialoquentTending to spray saliva when speaking.
• sideroliteAn iron meteorite; a siderite.
• siderurgyThe iron and steel industry.
• sigmaticHaving the consonant s added to the root in order to form a tense or case stem.
• sigmodontAny of the Sigmodontinae subfamily of rodents, including New World rats and mice.
• signcryptTo employ signcryption
• sillographA satirist.
• siredonA larval or neotenic salamander (e.g. the axolotl, Ambystoma mexicanum).
• -sisforming nouns of action or process
• sitio-food, especially grain
• sitiogonicConcerned with the mythological motif of the origins of foods, food sources, or food-related aspects of human culture.
• sito-food, especially grain
• sitomaniaObsessive eating
• skatoleA mildly toxic white crystalline organic compound of the indole family, occurring naturally in faeces and coal tar, 3-methylindole (C₉H₉N).
• skeuomorphismThe incorporation of obsolete or skeuomorphic elements into a design, for familiarity or out of tradition, even though they no longer serve any functional purpose.
• skiagramA picture or image created from shadows, especially with X-rays.
• skiascopeA retinoscope.
• skiascopyretinoscopy
• skiatronA kind of cathode ray tube that replaces the conventional light-emitting phosphor layer on the face of the tube screen with a scotophor such as potassium chloride.
• skolioromanticRomantically attracted to non-cisgender people.
• skoliosexualSexually attracted to non-cisgender people.
• skoramisA chamber pot.
• soleno-Having a tube, a duct or a pipe
• somato-body
• somatomeA somite.
• somatophylaxOne of the seven men that served in high-ranking military positions during the times of Alexander the Great
• somatopleureA fold of tissue, in the embryo of a vertebrate, from which the walls of the body and the amnion develop.
• somatoschisisA congenital fissure of the body wall or trunk.
• sophicTeaching, conveying, or related to wisdom.
• sopho-wise, intelligent, wisdom
• sophrologyA technique consisting of a set of physical and mental exercises for reducing stress and promoting well-being.
• sophronOf a sound and well-balanced mind; moderate, prudent, sensible, reasonable.
• sophronizeTo imbue with moral principles or self-control.
• sophrosyneThe Ancient Greek concept of an ideal of excellence of character and soundness of mind, which when combined in one well-balanced individual leads to other qualities, such as temperance, moderation, prudence, and self-control.
• -sophywisdom, knowledge, learning
• sorediumA common scalelike reproductive structure in lichens consisting of algal cells enveloped in a network of hyphae.
• sorosilicateAny silicate based on the dimeric anion Si₂O₇⁶⁻.
• sorosisAny multiple fruit, usually fleshy, that is derived from the multiple ovaries in an infructescence. Such a structure typically includes remnants of floral tissues such as the perianth. Examples include the mulberry and pineapple.
• sostrumA reward given for saving a person's life; a physician's fee.
• spanaemiaA condition of impoverishment of the blood; a morbid state in which the red corpuscles, or other important elements of the blood, are deficient.
• spanophiliaLove of the rare.
• sparagmosThe ritual tearing apart of a hero.
• spargosisdistension of the breasts with milk
• spathicHaving good cleavage.
• speleo-cave
• speleothemAny secondary mineral, deposited in a natural cave by the action of water. Includes formations such as stalactites, stalagmites, flowstones, and helictites.
• spermato-seed
• spermatoonA spermatid.
• sphacelGangrene.
• sphacelusA gangrenous part.