thermo-, therm-, thermi-, -thermia, -therm, -thermal, -thermic, -thermias, -thermies, -thermous, -thermy

(Greek: heat, heating, heater, hot, warm)

The term heat is employed in ordinary language in different senses. Some scientists distinguish four principal applications of the term:

  1. Sensation of heat.
  2. Temperature, or degree of hotness.
  3. Quantity of thermal energy.
  4. Radiant heat, or energy of radiation.

thermoregulator
A highly accurate and sensitive thermostat.
thermoregulatory center
The hypothalamic center in the body which regulates and controls body heat.
thermoresistance (s) (noun), thermoresistances (pl)
Resilience or unsusceptibility to heat: Electronic engineers are especially interested in thermoresistance since electrical elements produce heat and require being cooled, otherwise the elements would malfunction or even completely fail to operate!
thermoscope
1. An instrument for indicating slight differences of temperature without registering or recording them.
2. An instrument for detecting temperature changes in a substance by observing corresponding volume changes.
3. The earliest known version of a thermometer, developed by Galileo in 1592, using air in a tube instead of liquid.
thermosensitive (adjective), more thermosensitive, most thermosensitive
Relating to an animal or human easily affected by heat: The neighbor's dog was very thermosensitive, so on hot days it tried to stay cool by going under their shady porch.
thermosensitivity (s) (noun),thermosensitivities (pl)
Physical awareness of heat or being affected by such changes of temperatures: The doctor was puzzled by the excessive thermosensitivity of Mrs. Jones because she was not responding to the medication he prescribed to regulate her reactions to such temperature changes.
thermoset, thermosetting
1. A classification for materials that become hardened or cured by the application of heat; such as, acrylic resin.
2. A description of a group of polymers which soften when initially heated, then harden and condense in bulk and retain a permanent shape.

They cannot be softened or reprocessed by reheating.

thermosis
Any change that takes place in an organism because of the effect of heat.
thermosphere
In meteorology, the atmospheric layer, constituting essentially all of the atmosphere above the mesosphere (that is, above about 80-90 km altitude), in which temperature increases with height; includes the exosphere and most or all of the ionosphere.

In the area above the mesosphere, the temperature increases with altitude up to about 200 km, and above that it varies widely depending on the degree of solar activity with temperatures as high as 2000 degrees C are said to be possible.

thermostable (adjective), more thermostable, most thermostable
1. Relatively consistent or resistant to heat: The product said that the plastic container should be thermostable and not melt when in the microwave.
2. Not readily subject to alteration or destruction by heat: The thermostable nature of certain materials can be utilized industrially as an agent to hinder or delay fires.
thermostad
A layer of the ocean in which the vertical change of temperature is very slight.
thermostasis (s) (noun) (no plural)
The sustainment of a stable and constant bodily temperature: Thermostasis is exemplified in warm-blooded animals, such as mammals and birds, and keeps the animals in healthy conditions.
thermostat (s) (noun), thermostats (pl)
1. An apparatus for the automatic regulation of heat: Cryostats and pyrostats are two kinds of thermostats which start or stop the amount of hotness.
2. A device used to control the temperature in an enclosed area: In office buildings hotter or cooler air is supplied as necessary to maintain the temperature at the same level as the setting on the thermostat.
thermostatic (adjective) (not comparable)
Referring to a device for the automatic control of a heating or cooling system: Electric blankets can only be used throughout the night when there is a thermostatic regulator for safe use at night.
thermostatics (s) (noun) (no plural)
The branch of physics concerned with thermal equilibrium: The term thermostatics was first used by Myron Tribus in his publication of "Thermostatics and Thermodynamics" in 1961.

Quiz You can find self-scoring quizzes over many of the words in this subject area by going to this Thermo- Vocabulary Quizzes page.

Related "heat, hot" word units: ferv-; pyreto-.

Related "bubble" word unit: ebulli-.