Medical Prefix

di-

two, double

From Greek di-, two, twice

Meaning

What does di- mean?

di- is a prefix meaning two, double. It comes from Greek di-, two, twice.

Greek twin of Latin bi-; don't confuse it with dia-, through, as in diarrhea and diagnosis.

In real words

diplegia
1. Prefixdi-two, double
2. Suffix-plegiaparalysis
paralysis of the same part on both sides of the body
digastric
having two fleshy muscle bellies joined by a tendon; also the jaw muscle built this way
dimorphic
occurring in two distinct forms
disomy
1. Prefixdi-two, double
2. Suffix-somychromosome bodies (copies of one chromosome)
having two copies of a chromosome, the normal state in body cells; in uniparental disomy both come from one parent

Don't mix it up

Sources

Written for biofideX in plain words, after checking these references:

Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll correct it.

Practice it

di- is one of 14 parts in this lesson. Learn them together, then take real words apart.