neuro-

neu·ro-
UK/ˌnjʊə.ɹəʊ/Canada, US/ˌn(j)ʊ.ɹoʊ/Australia/ˌnjʉː.ɹəʉ/Australia[ˌnjʉː.ɹɐʉ]

prefix

Relating to the nerves, nervous tissue, or the nervous system.

“neuro- + pathy → neuropathy”

OriginAncient Greek νευρο- (neuro-) ← Proto-Indo-European *snéh₁wr̥ →
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Meanings

prefix
  1. Relating to the nerves, nervous tissue, or the nervous system.

    neuro- + pathy → neuropathy

    3 more examples

    neuro- + dynamics → neurodynamics

    neuro- + spinal → neurospinal

    There's been a proliferation of “neuro-” fields. Some, like neuroendocrinology and neuroimmunology, are stodgy old institutions by now.

    2017, Robert Sapolsky, chapter 2, in Behave, Penguin, →ISBN
  2. Relating to neurodivergency or neurodiversity.

    neuro- + queer → neuroqueer

    1 more example

    neuro- + spicy → neurospicy

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*(s)neh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*snéh₁wr̥
  3. Ancient Greekνεῦρον (neûron)
  4. Ancient Greekνευρο- (neuro-)
  5. Englishneuro-

From Ancient Greek νευρο- (neuro-), combining form of νεῦρον (neûron, “sinew, tendon, cord”). By surface analysis, neur- + -o-.

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian невро-
  • невро- (nevro-)relating to nerves or the nervous system
Catalan neuro-
  • neuro-relating to nerves or the nervous system
Dutch neuro-
  • neuro-relating to nerves or the nervous system
Finnish neuro-
  • neuro-relating to nerves or the nervous system
French neuro-
  • neuro-relating to nerves or the nervous system
German neuro-
  • neuro-relating to nerves or the nervous system
Greek νευρο-
  • νευρο- (nevro-)relating to nerves or the nervous system
Italian neuro-
  • neuro-relating to nerves or the nervous system
Norwegian Bokmål neuro-, nevro-
  • neuro-relating to nerves or the nervous system
  • nevro-relating to nerves or the nervous system
Polish neuro-
  • neuro-relating to nerves or the nervous system
Portuguese neuro-
  • neuro-relating to nerves or the nervous system
Russian нейро-, нервно-
  • нейро- (nejro-)relating to nerves or the nervous system
  • нервно- (nervno-)relating to nerves or the nervous system
Spanish neuro-
  • neuro-relating to nerves or the nervous system
Ukrainian нейро-, нервно-
  • нейро- (nejro-)relating to nerves or the nervous system
  • нервно- (nervno-)relating to nerves or the nervous system
Yiddish נעווראָ־
  • נעווראָ־ (nevro-)relating to nerves or the nervous system
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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