Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “-cephaly” come from?

-cephaly (English) comes from French -céphalie, from Ancient Greek κεφαλή, from Latin Taxus, from Ancient Greek εἶδος, from Spanish -scopio, from Latin -scopium, from Ancient Greek σκοπέω, from Ancient Greek σκοπός — to see, to look, to observe.

-cephaly (English): head

Definitions

  1. head

Ancestry of “-cephaly”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1French-céphalie-cephaly
2Ancient Greekκεφαλήhead; a person's life; the top-most part
3LatinTaxusyew
4Ancient GreekεἶδοςThat which is seen: form, image, shape;...
5Spanish-scopio-scope
6Latin-scopium—
7Ancient GreekσκοπέωI look, look at, behold; I examine, inspect; 413...
8Ancient Greekσκοπόςwatcher, lookout; protector, guardian; spy, scout
9Ancient GreekσκέπτομαιI look at, examine; I examine, consider, think
10Proto-Hellenicsképťomaito look at
11Proto-Indo-Europeanspéḱyetito be looking at, to keep looking at
12Proto-Indo-Europeanspeḱ-to see, to look, to observe

Words derived from “-cephaly”

  • microcephaly
  • macrocephaly
  • plagiocephaly
  • brachycephaly
  • dolichocephaly
  • microcephalin
  • scaphocephaly
  • acrocephaly
  • oxycephaly
  • megalocephaly
  • scaphocephalic
  • oxycephalic
  • orthocephaly
  • acephaly
  • turribrachycephaly
  • nanocephaly
  • acrobrachycephaly
  • polycephaly
  • cynocephaly
  • dicephaly
  • megacephaly
Every word from Proto-Indo-European speḱ- →