ORTHO-


Meaning of ORTHO- in English

1. a combining form occurring in loanwords from Greek, where it meant "straight," "upright," "right," "correct" ( orthodox ) and on this model used in the formation of compound words ( orthopedic ).

2. Chem.

a. a combining form used in the name of that acid in a given series of acids that contains the most water ( orthoboric acid ). Cf. meta-, pyro- .

b. a combining form used in the names of the salts of these acids: if the acid ends in -ic, the corresponding salt ends in -ate ( orthoboric acid (H 3 BO 3 ) and potassium orthoborate (K 3 BO 3 )); if the acid ends in -ous, the corresponding salt ends in -ite ( orthoantimonous acid (H 3 SbO 3 ) and potassium orthoantimonite (K 3 SbO 3 )).

Also, esp. before a vowel, orth- .

[ orthós straight, upright, correct ]

Random House Webster's Unabridged English dictionary.      Полный английский словарь Вебстер - Random House .