-ome

UK/ˌəʊm/Canada, US/ˌoʊm/Australia/ˌəʉm/Australia, New Zealand/ˌɐʉm/

suffix

A mass of something.

OriginAncient Greek -ωμα →
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Meanings

-ome1

suffix
  1. A mass of something.

-ome2

suffix
  1. biologyThe complete whole of a class of substances for a species or an individual.

Origin

-ome · suffix

  1. Ancient Greek-ωμα
  2. English-ome

Alteration of -oma, from Ancient Greek -ωμα (-ōma). Only partially cognate to -some (“body”), from σῶμα (sôma, “body”), in that both share the case ending -μα (-ma), but the ω is unrelated.

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

-ome · suffix

Back-formation from mitome, reinforced by chromosome. Early examples include biome (1916) and genome, from German Genom (1920). Some association with genetics due to occurrence in chromosome and genome.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

-ome. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-ome

MLA

“-ome.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-ome. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-ome,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-ome.

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