Word origins

• collocyteAny of various cells that produce gluey substances, that bind or capture prey or objects by securing them with gluey materials and structures, or that simply have a smooth and gelatinous appearance.
• collophoreA sucker-like organ on the ventral side of the abdomen of springtails belonging to the Collembola.
• collybistA money changer.
• colobomaAn abnormal hole present from birth in one of the structures of the eye, such as the lens, eyelid, or retina.
• colpo-Vagina.
• colpocleisisThe surgical closure of the vagina, used to treat prolapse.
• columbiadA form of cannon from the 19th century, mostly used for seacoast protection. It is a large-caliber, smoothbore, muzzle-loading cannon designed for launching shot or shells with heavy charges of powder, at both high and low angles of elevation.
• comastA reveler, usually drunken or riotous.
• conarionpineal gland.
• condylarthAny of a group of extinct placental mammals, early ungulates, known from the Paleocene and Eocene epochs.
• conidiumA fungal spore produced asexually in a conidiophore.
• coniineA poisonous alkaloid found in poison hemlock and the yellow pitcher plant; it is a neurotoxin which disrupts the peripheral nervous system.
• coniosisAny disease caused by the inhalation of dust.
• conisterionA room in ancient Greek and Roman gymnasiums where athletes, particularly wrestlers, applied sand or dust to their bodies after being anointed with oil. This practice enhanced grip during matches by counteracting the slipperiness caused by oil and sweat.
• conistraA part of the palestra, or gymnasium: either the place where sand was stored for use in sprinkling the wrestlers, or the wrestling ground itself.
• coniteA magnesian variety of dolomite.
• copro-Relating to excrement or dung.
• coprophobiaA fear of feces.
• cordaxA lascivious dance featuring in Ancient Greek comedy.
• cormophyteAny plant having a proper stem or axis of growth, which is distinct from its leaves, phyllophyte
• cormusA corm.
• corybantiasmA kind of frenzy in which the patient is tormented by fantastic visions and lack of sleep.
• coryneformAny bacterium of the genus Corynebacterium
• corypheneA fish of the genus Coryphaena.
• corytophanidAny lizard in the family Corytophanidae; a casquehead or helmeted lizard.
• -cosa-Combines with the prefixes for 1–9 to form complex prefixes referring to 21–29.
• cosmo-universe, world
• cosmocratOne who rules the world.
• cosmocratorA ruler of the entire world or cosmos.
• cosmodicyA justification of the fundamental goodness of the universe, especially in regard to the existence of evil and suffering in the world; a work or discourse justifying the ways of the universe.
• cosmographyThe creation of maps of the universe.
• cosmolabeAn instrument resembling the astrolabe, formerly used for measuring the angles between heavenly bodies.
• cosmotheticAssuming or positing the actual existence or reality of the physical or external world.
• cothonAn artificial, protected harbor in a Phoenician city, especially and originally the one in Carthage.
• coulrophobiaThe fear of clowns.
• -cracyrule (in the sense of governing).
• cranidiumIn trilobites, the part of the cephalon (the head) consisting of the glabella and the fixigenae.
• CrantorA male given name from Ancient Greek, of historical usage, notably borne by Crantor of Soli.
• crasisOne's constitution; the balance of humours in a person's body.
• craspedonA border or fringe.
• craspedophytechoanoflagellate
• -crasytemperament, constituent pattern.
• -cratA participant in a specified form of government.
• creaticRelating to, or produced by, meat.
• cremocarpThe fruit of fennel, carrot, parsnip, etc., consisting of a pair of carpels pendent from a supporting axis.
• creno-Spring, fountain, well, waters.
• creo-Meat, flesh.
• crepidomaIn classical Greek architecture, the platform of (usually three) levels upon which the superstructure of the building is erected, typically forming a series of steps.
• -crineUsed to form names of acridine derivatives.
• crioconeAn organism or fossil with a crioconic shell, or such a shell itself.
• criophoreA statue or other representation of a person carrying a ram.
• criththe weight of 1 litre of hydrogen at standard temperature and pressure. Equal to approximately 0.09 grams.
• crithomancyDivination by interpreting food, usually bread and grain used in sacrifice.
• critocracyA system of rule by judges.
• crociasOnly used in spotted crocias and grey-crowned crocias (two species of birds in the laughingthrush family, found in Java and Vietnam).
• croconicOf or pertaining to croconic acid or its derivatives.
• crocoseglucose obtained from saffron.
• crocottaA mythical dog-wolf of India or Ethiopia, said to be a deadly enemy of men and dogs and able to imitate the voice of any animal or human.
• cromniomancyDivination by onions or onion sprouts.
• CronianSaturnian; applied to the Arctic Ocean.
• crono-Relating to Saturn
• crotaphitePertaining to the temples; temporal.
• cryo-cold, freezing
• crypsisThe ability of an organism to avoid observation.
• -cryptCryptography.
• cryptidineOne of the quinoline bases, obtained from coal tar as an oily liquid, C₁₁H₁₁N.
• crypto-Hidden, invisible.
• cryptogamAny plant that reproduces using spores (rather than seeds), formerly placed in the taxonomic group Cryptogamae, which included ferns, mosses, algae, fungi, lichens and liverworts.
• crystallurgycrystallization
• cteneA band of fused cilia on the bodies of ctenophores, used for locomotion.
• cteniformComb-shaped.
• cteno-comb
• ctetologyThe study of the origin of acquired characteristics.
• CtimeneThe younger sister of Odysseus, the legendary king of Ithaca.
• cumaceanAny small marine crustacean of the order Cumacea, closely related to tanaidaceans.
• CureteA Korybant.
• cyano-Dark blue-green in colour
• cyanopeA person with fair hair and brown eyes.
• cyanophylliteAn orthorhombic-dipyramidal greenish blue mineral containing aluminum, antimony, copper, hydrogen, and oxygen. A polytype of cualstibite, and discredited for such in 2012.
• cyathiformIn the form of a cup, a little widened at the top.
• cyatholithA kind of coccolith resembling a minute cup widened at the top.
• cyclopiaA congenital abnormality in which the orbits of the eye do not divide to form separate sockets
• CydippeOne of the nereids.
• cydno longwingHeliconius cydno, a species of brush-footed butterfly.
• cyesisPregnancy.
• cymatogenywarping of the Earth's crust on a massive scale, resulting in domes and basins
• cymeneAny of several isomeric naturally occurring terpenoid hydrocarbons; a constituent of a number of essential oils, most commonly the oil of cumin and thyme.
• cymotrichousHaving wavy hair.
• cynanthropyA delusion in which a person believes he or she is transformed into a dog.
• cynarrhodiumA fruit like that of the rose, consisting of a cup formed of the calyx tube and receptacle, and containing achenes.
• cynegeticOf or relating to hunting (especially with dogs).
• cynodontAny of several small carnivorous synapsids in the clade Cynodontia, ancestral to mammals and extinct close relatives.
• CynosargesAn ancient Greek temple of Heracles, public gymnasium, and surrounding grove located just outside the walls of ancient Athens.
• cyphonautesThe larva of an ectoproct or bryozoan.
• cyphosomaticDescribing larvae whose dorsal side is curved while the ventral surface remains straight or flat.
• cyprinodontAny of the Cyprinodontidae, a family of fishes including the killifishes or minnows.
• cyrto-hooked, curved
• cystacanthThe final larval stage of an acanthocephalan, infective to the definitive host.
• cysticercusThe larval stage of any of several tapeworms, having a fluid-filled cyst enclosing a scolex.
• cysto-Of or relating to any cyst, sac, or bladder.