apo-, ap-, aph-

(Greek: from, away from, asunder, separate, separation from, derived from)

apocentric (adjective), more apocentric, most apocentric
A reference to the point on any orbit farthest from the center of attraction.
apocope (s) (noun), apocopes (pl)
The loss or omission of one or more syllables from the end of a word; for example, the shortening of "kind of" to "kinda".
apocrine (adjective), more apocrine, most apocrine
A reference to producing a secretion that involves breaking off of the part of the cytoplasm of the secreting cells above the nucleus; produced by an apocrine gland.
apocrine gland (s) (noun), apocrine glands (pl)
Any of the large sweat glands that produce both a fluid and a secretion.

Apocrine glands are restricted in men to hairy regions of the body, and are lined by a single layer of tall columnar cells with acidophile cytoplasm (thriving in a relatively acid environment).

Apocryphalist (s) (noun), Apocryphalists (pl)
Anyone who believes in, or who defends, the Apocrypha; that is, the biblical books included in the Vulgate and accepted in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox canon but considered non-canonical or an unacceptable rule by Protestants because they are not part of the Hebrew Scriptures.
apocynum (s) (noun), apocynums (pl)
A genus of chiefly American perennial herbs of the dogbane family (Apocynaceae) with opposite leaves and small white or pink flowers comprising the dogbanes of which several are the source of substances with physiological activity resembling digitalis.

Dogbanes are perennial herbaceous plants, with poisonous milky juice, bearing slender pods in pairs; said to be poisonous to dogs.

apodactylic (adjective), more apodactylic, most apodactylic
A reference to being incapable of using one's fingers.
apodemialgia (s) (noun), apodemialgias (pl)
Wanderlust; a painful desire to get away from home: After recovering from his injury and staying home so lond, Sam suddenly developed apodemialgia and wanted to travel around the world, and he knew he wouldn't experience nostalgia!
apodictic (adjective), more apodictic, most apodictic
A kind of argument in which someone presents his or her reasoning as categorically true; even if it is not necessarily so: Since Robert didn't consider several aspects of the computer program, he should not have made so many apodictic statements about the reliability of the usage of the system which he was presenting.
Being convinced and certain.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
for a list of additional Mickey Bach illustrations.

apodosis (s) (noun), apodoses (pl)
1. The main clause of a sentence: "The game will be canceled" is the apodosis in the sentence, "The game will be canceled if it rains."
2. Etymology: from Late Latin, from Greek, from apodidonai, "to give back"; apo-, "from" + didonai, "to give".
apodysis (s), apodyses (pl) (noun forms)
1. The act of disrobing as an expression of exhibitionism.
2. The act or habit of mentally undressing a person or fantasizing about what that person looks like naked.
apogee (s) (noun), apogees (pl)
1. The point at which a satellite orbiting an astronomical object is farthest from the center of the object being orbited: Jill couldn't see the spacecraft anymore through her telescope because the spacecraft was at its apogee, and so very far away!

The apogee is the point in an orbit that is most distant from the body being orbited.
2. The point in the orbits of the moon around the Earth, or of an artificial satellite, that is most distant from the center of the Earth: When in class, Jill learned that the apogee, or the most distant point of orbit around the moon, was opposite of the perigee, which was the nearest point of the moon to the Earth.
3. The farthest, or highest point; a culmination: In his career, James reached the apogee of being president of the business when he turned thirty.

apogeotropic (adjective), more apogeotropic, most apogeotropic
Characterized by the response by an organism by turning away from the earth: Apogeotropic plant stems and leaves grow upward from the soil where they exist.
apogeotropism (s) (noun), apogeotropisms (pl)
The growth or orientation of certain plants to flourish up away from the earth in which they grow: The condition of apogeotropism can be seen by the trunks of trees and their leaves that develop towards the sky.
apogeotropy (s) (noun), apogeotropies (pl)
The tendency of parts of plants to turn upward when developing: The property of apogeotropy pertains to the growth of most vegetation in which the stems, trunks, and the leaves all grow towards the sky, and therefore away from the soil of the earth.

Apogeotropy is the opposite of geotropism.