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.

thermogravimetry
The measurement of changes in weight of a substance as a function of changes in temperature.
thermohaline (adjective) (not comparable)
A reference to both temperature and salinity of sea water: In oceanography, thermohaline circulation relates to the joint action or variations of temperature and salinity in a water mass.
thermohaline circulation (s) (noun), thermohaline circulations (pl)
A pattern of global ocean circulative currents or courses driven by density differences in water: The Gulf Stream is one example of thermohaline circulation that is created by variations or changes in temperature and salinity in the ocean.
thermohaline convection (s) (noun), thermohaline convections (pl)
The vertical movement of a layer of water caused by changes in the temperature-salinity relationship resulting in it becoming heavier than the water below it: Thermohaline convection is a kind of hydrodynamic instability and arrises due to one layer becoming colder or more saline, or both, and thus more dense.
thermohypalgesia
1. Diminished pain to heat stimuli including high temperatures.
2. A decreased feeling of pain when exposed to heat.
thermohyperaesthesia (s) (noun), thermohyperaesthesias (pl)
An extreme sensitiveness or exaggerated perception of hot or cold: Elaine was always complaining about her experiences with thermohyperaesthesia because she was often either too hot or too cold!
thermohyperalgesia
1. Excessive thermalgesia (pain caused by a slight degree of heat).
2. A condition in which the application of moderate heat causes extreme pain.
3. Pain induced by hot or cold stimuli at thresholds lower than normal.
thermohypesthesia, thermohypaesthesia (s) (noun); thermohypesthesias; thermohypaesthesias (pl)
Diminished sensibility to heat stimuli including high temperatures: Clare had to be constantly on guard about what she was touching, especially when she was cooking because her thermohypesthesia didn't let her know when something was dangerously hot.
thermohypoesthesia (s) (noun), thermohypoesthesias (pl)
A lack of sensibility to heat stimuli: Mr. Johnson’s hands had thick calluses on them as a result of his working on the railroads which caused thermohypoesthesia, or being unaware of anything being very hot whenever he happened to touch any excessively hot objects.
thermoinactivation (s) (noun), thermoinactivations (pl)
Destruction of the power to act as a result of exposure to heat: Thermoinactivation is used to render enzymes or viruses inert.
thermoinhibitory
1. Inhibiting or retarding the production of bodily heat.
2. Inhibiting or arresting thermogenesis.
3. Capable of exerting a negative effect on heat production by the body.
thermoinhibitory center, thermoregulatory center
A center located in the hypothalamus of the body concerned mainly with the regulation of heat production, heat inhibition, and heat conservation to maintain a normal body temperature.
thermointegrator (s) (noun), thermointegrators (pl)
1. An apparatus for recording environmental warmth.
2. An instrument used to create a thermal model of an environment, measuring the warmth and coldness as it might be experienced by a living organism in that environment.
3. Any device for assessing the effective warmth or coldness of an environment as it might be experienced by a living organism, taking into account radiation and convection as well as conduction.

Conceived of as a thermal model of an organism, the device usually consists of a standard object (for example; a sphere, a cylinder), the surface temperature of which is measured while it is being heated internally at a standard rate.

thermojet
1. A jet of heated gases ejected from a jet engine to provide thrust.
2. A thermal jet engine.
thermojunction (s) (noun), thermojunctions (pl)
The connection between the two dissimilar metal conductors of a thermocouple.

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-.