neo-

UK/ˈniːəʊ/US/ˈnioʊ/

prefix

contemporary

Similar
ceno-nov-
Opposite
paleo-proto-
OriginAncient Greek νεο- (neo-) ← Proto-Hellenic *néwos ← Proto-Indo-European *néwos →
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

prefix
  1. in compoundsCombining form of new.

    Synonyms: ceno-, nov-

  2. contemporary
  3. chemistryHaving a structure, similar to that of neopentane, in which each hydrogen atom of a methyl group has been replaced by an alkyl group
  4. chemistryBeing a newly-discovered or -synthesized variant of an existing compound
  5. especiallymedicinesurgically created

    neo- + penis → neopenis

    1 more example

    neo- + labia → neolabia

Synonyms & antonyms

prefixCombining form of new.

Similar
ceno-nov-
Opposite
paleo-proto-
Also see
ceno-new

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*nu
  2. Proto-Indo-European*néwos
  3. Proto-Hellenic*néwos
  4. Ancient Greekνέος (néos)
  5. Ancient Greekνεο- (neo-)
  6. Englishneo-

From Ancient Greek prefix νεο- (neo-), from νέος (néos, “new, young”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bengali নও-
  • নও- (noō-)new
Chinese Mandarin 新-
  • 新- (xīn)new
Finnish neo-, uus-
  • neo-new
  • uus-new
German neo-, neu-
  • neo-new
  • neu-new
  • neo-contemporary
Greek νεο-, νεο-
  • νεο- (neo-)new
  • νεο- (neo-)contemporary
Hindi नव, नव्य
  • नव (nav)new
  • नव्य (navya)new
Hungarian neo-
  • neo-new
Irish neo-
  • neo-new
Italian neo-, neo-
  • neo-new
  • neo-contemporary
Japanese 新-, 現-
  • 新- (shin-)new
  • 現- (gen-)contemporary
  • 現代- (gendai-)contemporary
Norwegian Bokmål neo-
  • neo-new
Persian نو, نئو
  • نو (now-)new
  • نئو (ne'o-)new
Polish neo-, neo-
  • neo-new
  • neo-contemporary
Portuguese neo-, neo-
  • neo-new
  • neo-contemporary
Russian нео-, ново-
  • нео- (neo-)new
  • ново- (novo-)new
  • ново- (novo-)contemporary
Spanish neo-, neo-
  • neo-new
  • neo-contemporary
Swedish neo-
  • neo-new
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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