Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “-mer” come from?

-mer (English) comes from Ancient Greek μέρος, from Proto-Hellenic *(h)méros.

Ancestry of “-mer”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient Greekμέροςpart, component, region; share, portion; one's...
2Proto-Hellenic*(h)méros—

Words derived from “-mer”

  • polymer
  • polymerase
  • polymerization
  • monomer
  • polymeric
  • dimer
  • copolymer
  • isomer
  • monomeric
  • dimerization
  • elastomer
  • isomerization
  • topoisomerase
  • isomeric
  • dendrimer
  • dimeric
  • isomerase
  • heterodimer
  • enantiomer
  • isomerism
  • tetramer
  • ionomer
  • oligomeric
  • oligomerization
Every word from Proto-Hellenic *(h)méros →