geo-, ge- +

(Greek: earth, land, soil; world; Gaia (Greek), Gaea (Latin), "earth goddess")

geophysical (adjective) (not comparable)
Of or concerned with the physical phenomena and processes in and around the Earth: Geophysical sciences interested Adam so much that he decided to study this area at the university and learn about the physical aspects relating to the planet Earth.
geophysical engineering (s) (noun) (no pl)
A branch of engineering that utilizes physical and mathematical sciences to find mineral deposits: Mr. Hathaway and his team were involved in geophysical engineering and were successful in locating ore, oil, and gas.
geophysical prospecting (s) (noun) (no pl)
A method of geologic exploration that utilizes physical and mathematical sciences in measuring and identifying the composition and characteristics of a designated area of the Earth's crust: Mrs. Hanawalt read about geophysical prospecting as the use of physics and mathematics in discovering mineral resources in rocks under the planet's crust.
geophysicist (s) (noun), geophysicists (pl)
A geologist who uses physical principles to study the properties of the Earth: One famous geophysicist was Alfred Lothat Wegener (1880 - 1930) who put forward the theory of the continental drift.
geophysics (s) (noun) (no pl)
One branch of Earth studies pertaining to the physical processes and phenomena which take place in and around the planet: Geophysics ia the physics of the world and its environment, including the physics of fields, such as meteorology, oceanography, and seismology.

Geophysics is the study of the Earth by quantitative physical methods, especially by seismic reflection and refraction, gravity, magnetic, electrical, electromagnetic, and radioactivity methods.

Geophysics is the scientific study of the physical characteristics and properties of the solid Earth, its air and waters, and its relationship to space phenomena.

Geophysics is the branch of geology in which the principles and practices of physics are used to study the planet Earth and its environment, such as earth, air, and (by extension) space. It is also the science that deals with the weather, winds, tides, earthquakes, etc. and their effects on the planet.

Geophysics includes the soils, sediments, and rock layers of the planet's crust, both continental and beneath the ocean floors.

The meaning of the word geophysics is undergoing changes. The classical methods of geophysics are being applied to the planets now that we can reach them.

Seismological techniques are being used to study the interior of the moon, and magnetic field measurements are important probes for the planets.

The name will not change. However, because it is a most encompassing science, ranging from petroleum exploration on the Earth to the understanding of the most distant planets.

—Based on words from
"Geophysics" by William A. Nierenberg;
Director Emeritus, Scripps Institution of Oceanography;
Dictioinary of Science and Technology; Academic Press;
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers; New York; 1992; page 925.
geophyte (s) (noun), geophytes (pl)
A plant that buds in the earth, especially one with buds living underground throughout the winter: A geophyte is a perennial plant, or terrestrial plant, that propagates from organs, such as bulbs, tubers, or rhizomes, that are below ground.

A geophyte can be a crocus or tulip which is propagated by buds, on underground bulbs, tubers, or corms.

"Corms" are short swollen underground stem bases in some plants, such as crocuses and gladioli, that store food over the winter and produce new foliage in the spring. New corms often form on top of old ones and are used as a means of producing new plants.

geoplagiotropic (adjective), more geoplagiotropic, most geoplagiotropic
In botany, a reference to a plant growing at an oblique angle to the soil surface: A geoplagiotropic plant is the stolon, normally known as a runner, in which the creeping stem flourishes horizontally with the soil.
geoplagiotropism (s) (noun) (no pl)
Orientation at an oblique angle to the soil surface: The situation of geoplagiotropism can be exemplified by rhizomes which are subterranean shoots which thrive parallel to the soil surface and have the function of storing food and of vegetative reproduction.
geopolitical (adjective), more geopolitical, most geopolitical
Of or relating to the effects of economic geography: Mr. Thompson was involved in geopolitical politics dealing with geography and international relationships..
geopolitically (adverb) (not comparable)
A reference to how such factors as geography, economics, and demography have influence on politics: Mrs. Smart was geopolitically involved in the foreign policies of her country.
geopolitician (s) (noun), geopoliticians (pl)
A specialist in geopolitics: Dr. Hathaway was a geopolitician, an expert in political and geographic factors relating to his country and certain natural resources.
geopolitics (s) (noun) (no pl)
The study of the relationships among politics and geography, demography, and economics, especially with respect to the foreign policy of a nation: Geopolitics is concerned with the influence of geographic factors, population distribution, and natural resources on a nation's foreign policy, for example, the efforts of a nation to control a canal, a trade route, an oil supply, etc.

Geopolitics is a combination of geographic and political factors relating to or influencing a nation or region.

geoponic (adjective) (not comparable)
Of or relating to agriculture: Jim was interested in geoponic farming, especially in the tillage of the ground for growing his vegetables.
geoponics (s) (noun) (no pl)
The study of cultivating the earth; the science of agriculture: Tom wanted to have a farm and grow vegetables, so he decided to study geoponics first at the college in his town.
geopotential (s) (noun), geopotentials (pl)
In meteorology, the effort that is needed at a specific altitude to lift a unit mass from the level of the ocean to that altitude in opposition to the Earth's gravitational field: Geopotential is the potentiality of gravity of the Earth, the sum of its gravitational ability and the capability of its centrifugal force, in which the zero point of energy is defined to be located at sea level.

Available for further enlightenment: the Earth, Words from the Myths.


Cross references of word families related directly, or indirectly, to: "land, ground, fields, soil, dirt, mud, clay, earth (world)": agra-; agrest-; agri-; agro-; argill-; choro-; chthon-; epeiro-; glob-; lut-; myso-; pedo-; pel-; rhyp-; soil-; sord-; terr-.