Phore
/fɔːr/noun
A combining form meaning “bearing” or “carrying,” used in scientific and technical terms.
Did you know?The same Greek root behind “-phore” also gave English words like “metaphor,” which literally means a “carrying across,” showing how language itself was seen as transport.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰer-
“to carry, bear”
Ancient Greek
Greek
-phoros / pherein
“bearing, carrying”
Classical Greek
Greek
-phoros
“bearing, carrying; used in compounds”
Latin
Latin
-phorus
“borrowed form in learned compounds”
Modern English
English
-phore
“combining form meaning bearing or carrying”
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