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DictionaryRoot: -ikos
Greek

-ikos

connected with or characteristic of

Forms

  • -ikos
  • -ic — The ending shortened as Greek words entered Latin, French, and English.

Origin

Greek -ikos continued an older Indo-European ending used to describe a connection or kind.

Note

English extended this borrowed ending to newly coined words.

143 / 163
A respectful clinical close-up of a person's hand held in involuntary flexion while a therapist gently supports the wrist; no caricature.
adjective / noun

spastic

SPASS-tik/spˈæstɪk/

Affected by involuntary muscle tightness or spasms.

Etymology
spastGreekdraw, pull, contract violently
+icGreekconnected with or characteristic of

The root's sense of drawing or pulling became the medical idea of muscles contracting involuntarily. Greek spastikos already meant “afflicted with spasms,” directly connecting that pulling action to the selected meaning.

Full entry

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