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.

isothermal
1. Indicating equality or consistency of temperature.
2. A line connecting places on the earth’s surface having the same mean, or constant, temperature.
3. A curve or formula showing the relationship between two variables; such as, pressure and volume, when the temperature is held constant.
isothermic
A reference to or descriptive of having a constant temperature.
isothermobath
A line connecting points having the same temperature in a diagram of a vertical section of the ocean.
isothermognosis
An abnormal perception in which stimulations of pain, heat, and cold are all felt as heat.
katathermometer
An alcohol-filled thermometer of specified design that is heated above ambient temperature and then allowed to cool; the time taken to cool between specified temperatures is a measure of the heat content of the environment that takes into account air movement as well as temperature.

The bulb may be silvered to minimize radiation effects or blackened to maximize them.

macrothermophile (s) (noun), macrothermophiles (pl)
An organism that thrives in warm habitats or in the tropics: Some macrothermophiles include the starch plants, like rice and yams, that flourish in warm regions.
macrothermophyte
A plant which can not tolerate low temperatures and that flourishes in a tropical environment.
magnetothermoelectricity
The passing of an electric current through semimetals; such as, the elements of bismuth and antimony, in the presence of a magnetic field.
mechanothermy
Therapeutic heat produced by massage, exercise, etc.
megatherm, megathermia, megathermy
1. An organism requiring a very high temperature.
2. A plant favoring warm habitats, and with a requirement for a minimum temperature of 18°C in the coldest month.
megathermic, megathermal
A reference to a plant favoring warm habitats.
megathermophyte
A plant which does not tolerate low temperatures and that exists best in a tropical environment.
megistothermic, megistotherm, megistothermy
A plant requiring a very high temperature for growth.
meiotherm, meiothermy
A plant which thrives in cool temperate habitats or environments.
meiothermic, meiothermal
1. A reference to a plant in a temperate habitat or environment.
2. Pertaining to those temperature conditions now prevailing on earth; especially, as compared with past geological periods which were warmer or colder.

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-.