English

Suffix

-oma ‎(plural -omata or -omas)

1. (pathology) A suffix forming nouns indicating disease or morbidity.
2. (pathology, specifically) A suffix forming nouns indicating tumors or masses, which may be benign or cancerous (malignant).

Usage notes

• For most nouns formed with -oma, the plural in -omas is more common, because the suffix has been naturalized into English, but the plural in -omata is often preferred by people who believe that the Greek inflection needs to be retained.

Derived terms

Translations

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowing from Ancient Greek -ωμα ‎(-ōma).

Pronunciation

• (Portugal, Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈo.mɐ/

Suffix

-oma m

1. (pathology) -oma (forms the names of tumours or masses)

   linfo- ‎(“lympho”) + ‎-oma → ‎linfoma ‎(“lymphoma”)

2. (chiefly biology) -ome (forms the names of masses or sets)

   bio- ‎(“bio-”) + ‎-oma → ‎bioma ‎(“biome”)

Spanish

Etymology

From Ancient Greek -ωμα ‎(-ōma).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /o.ma/

Suffix

-oma m

1. (pathology) -oma

Derived terms