-oma

-o·ma
UK/ˈəʊ.mə/Canada, US/ˈoʊ.mə/Australia/ˈəʉ.mə/Australia, New Zealand/ˈɐʉ.mə/

suffix

Forming nouns indicating disease or morbidity.

Similar
-cele-coele
OriginAncient Greek -ωμα ← Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ →
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Meanings

suffix-oma (plural -omata or -omas)

plural -omata · plural -omas

  1. medicineForming nouns indicating disease or morbidity.
  2. specificallymedicineForming nouns indicating tumors or masses, which may be non-neoplastic or (more often) neoplastic, and (if the latter) either benign or malignant (cancerous); in accord with present-day understanding of histopathology, the suffix is now nonproductive for non-neoplastic senses.

    Synonyms: -cele, -coele

Synonyms & antonyms

suffixForming nouns indicating tumors or masses, which may be non-neoplastic or (more often) neoplastic, and (if the latter) either benign or malignant (cancerous); in accord with present-day understanding of histopathology, the suffix is now nonproductive for non-neoplastic senses.

Similar
-cele-coele
Also see
-cele

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*-mn̥
  2. Ancient Greek-ωμα
  3. English-oma

From Ancient Greek -ωμα (-ōma), from verbs in -όω (-óō) + -μα (-ma) (from Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥), which lengthens a preceding vowel.

More words from Ancient Greek, Proto-Indo-European

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian -о́м, -о́ма
  • -о́м (-óm)suffix forming nouns indicating tumors or masses
  • -о́ма (-óma)suffix forming nouns indicating tumors or masses
Catalan -oma
  • -omasuffix forming nouns indicating tumors or masses
Dutch -oom, -oom
  • -oomsuffix forming nouns indicating disease or morbidity
  • -oomsuffix forming nouns indicating tumors or masses
Finnish -ooma, -ooma
  • -oomasuffix forming nouns indicating disease or morbidity
  • -oomasuffix forming nouns indicating tumors or masses
French -ome, -ome
  • -omesuffix forming nouns indicating disease or morbidity
  • -omesuffix forming nouns indicating tumors or masses
Irish -óma, -óma
  • -ómasuffix forming nouns indicating disease or morbidity
  • -ómasuffix forming nouns indicating tumors or masses
Latin -ōma, -ōma
  • -ōmasuffix forming nouns indicating disease or morbidity
  • -ōmasuffix forming nouns indicating tumors or masses
Polish -oma, -oma
  • -omasuffix forming nouns indicating disease or morbidity
  • -omasuffix forming nouns indicating tumors or masses
Portuguese -oma
  • -omasuffix forming nouns indicating tumors or masses
Spanish -oma
  • -omasuffix forming nouns indicating tumors or masses
Cite this entry
APA

-oma. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-oma

MLA

“-oma.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-oma. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-oma,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-oma.

Source: -oma on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.