Body Language: Os, Osteo ("Bone")

Bone up on these words that derive from the Latin word os and the Greek word osto, both meaning "bone."

Want to dissect more English words related to anatomy? Here are links to our complete set of Body Language lists:
Corp ("Body") / Capit, Capt ("Head") / Or, Os ("Mouth") / Dent, Dont ("Tooth") / Gastr, Gastro ("Stomach") / Neur ("Nerve") / Man ("Hand") / Ped, Pod ("Foot") / Derm ("Skin") / Carn ("Flesh") / Os, Osteo ("Bone") / Cor, Cord, Cardio ("Heart") / Psych ("Mind")
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. ossify
    make rigid and set into a conventional pattern
    The way physicians are typically paid further ossifies the system. Washington Post (Jul 11, 2018)
    os + facere ("to make, to do")
    This word can literally mean "to cause to become bony," but it is more often used figuratively, as in the example sentence.
  2. osseous
    composed of or containing bone
    Do not all vertebrates require an osseous system? Burroughs, John
    os + ous (suffix forming adjectives)
  3. ossiferous
    containing bones (especially fossil bones)
    The fragments of egg-shells, imbedded in the ossiferous deposits, had escaped the notice of all previous naturalists. Humboldt, Alexander von
    os + ferre ("to bear, to carry") + ous (suffix forming adjectives)
    An ossiferous object contains bones that come from elsewhere, while an osseous animal (see above) grows its own bones.
  4. ossuary
    any receptacle for the burial of human bones
    But seekers of the macabre can bone up on Europe’s more bizarre ossuaries. Seattle Times (Mar 17, 2015)
    os + ary (suffix forming nouns)
  5. ossicle
    a small bone; especially one in the middle ear
    Within the tympanum is arranged a chain of remarkable "little bones," or ossicles. Hutchison, Joseph Chrisman
    os + cule (suffix forming diminutives)
    The three ossicles of the middle ear — called the malleus, incus, and stapes, or the hammer, anvil, and stirrup — are the smallest bones in the human body.
  6. osteoclast
    cell that functions in the breakdown and resorption of bone tissue
    Normally, cells called osteoclasts clear away old bone tissue while others called osteoblasts lay down new bone. Nature (Dec 14, 2011)
    os + klastos ("broken into pieces")
  7. osteoporosis
    abnormal loss of bony tissue due to a lack of calcium
    There appears to be scant evidence that calcium in milk helps prevent osteoporosis and improve bone strength. BBC (Nov 18, 2014)
    os + poros ("pore, passage") + osis (suffix meaning "disease, abnormal condition")
  8. osteoarthritis
    chronic breakdown of cartilage in the joints
    Osteoarthritis is something nearly all of us can expect to face if we live long enough. New York Times (Apr 27, 2015)
    os + arthron (joint) + itis (suffix meaning "inflammation")
  9. osteosarcoma
    malignant bone tumor
    In 1973, at 12, young Ted Kennedy lost a leg to osteosarcoma, an aggressive form of bone cancer. New York Times (May 4, 2013)
    os + sarkos ("flesh") + oma (suffix meaning "tumor")
  10. osteophyte
    small abnormal bony outgrowth
    That approach revealed that exercise does appear to promote the growth of osteophytes, or bony spurs, in the knee joint. Washington Post (Mar 1, 2011)
    os + phyte (suffix meaning "abnormal growth")
  11. osteopathy
    therapy based on the assumption that restoring health is best accomplished by manipulating the skeleton and muscles
    As founder of Western University, it was Pumerantz’s mission to achieve a peaceful working relationship between osteopathy and traditional medicine. Los Angeles Times (Jan 12, 2018)
    os + pathy (suffix meaning "system for treating disease")
  12. osteology
    the branch of anatomy that studies the bones of the vertebrate skeleton
    In the meantime the skeleton has vanished from the room, and the science of osteology from our brains, leaving no trace behind. Tagore, Rabindranath
    os + logy (suffix meaning "science")
  13. ostracize
    expel from a community or group
    It occurs when a person violates the norms of the community, and other people respond by publicly criticizing, avoiding, or ostracizing him. Slate (Apr 9, 2015)
    ostrakon ("tile, potsherd, oyster shell") + ize (suffix forming verbs)
    The word can be traced to the Latin os but its modern meaning no longer directly connects to bone. In the past, the Greeks gathered to decide who was a danger to the community. Each citizen would write a name on a tile, potsherd, oyster shell, or anything with a hard, bony surface. The man who got the most votes was then ostracized for 10 years.
Created on Thu Jun 04 15:16:12 EDT 2015 (updated Thu Aug 22 13:46:16 EDT 2019)

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