paleo-

UK/ˈpæl.i.əʊ/UK/ˈpeɪ.li.əʊ/US/ˈpæl.i.ə/US/ˈpeɪ.li.ə/

prefix

Old; ancient or primitive.

Opposite
neo-
OriginAncient Greek πᾰλαιός (pălaiós) ← Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁-der.? →
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Meanings

prefix

alternative palaeo- · alternative palae- · alternative pale- · alternative palæo- · alternative palæ-

  1. Old; ancient or primitive.
  2. Related to paleontology.
  3. Used to form informal names of taxa; basal.

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
neo-
Also see
old

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁-der.?
  2. Ancient Greekπάλαι (pálai)
  3. Ancient Greekπᾰλαιός (pălaiós)
  4. Englishpaleo-

From Ancient Greek παλαιός (palaiós, “old”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 古-
  • 古- (gǔ-)old
Finnish paleo-, muinais-
  • paleo-old
  • muinais-old
  • paleo-primitive
  • paleo-related to paleontology
French paléo-, paléo-
  • paléo-old
  • paléo-related to paleontology
German paläo-
  • paläo-old
Greek παλαιο-, παλαιο-
  • παλαιο- (palaio-)old
  • παλαιο- (palaio-)related to paleontology
Hindi पुरा-, पुरा
  • पुरा- (purā-)old
  • पुरा (purā)primitive
  • पुरा (purā)related to paleontology
Irish pailé(a)-, pailé(a)-
  • pailé(a)-old
  • pailé(a)-primitive
  • pailé(a)-related to paleontology
Japanese 旧-
  • 旧- (kyū-)old
Polish paleo-, paleo-
  • paleo-old
  • paleo-primitive
  • paleo-related to paleontology
Portuguese paleo-, paleo-
  • paleo-old
  • paleo-primitive
  • paleo-related to paleontology
Vietnamese -cổ
  • -cổold
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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