pyro-
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pyro-
(word root) fireExamples of words with the root pyro-: pyromaniac
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree
pyro-
or pyr-pref.
1. Fire; heat: pyrotechnic.
2. Relating to the action of fire or heat: pyrography.
3. Fever: pyrogen.
4. Formed upon heating, by loss of water or another small molecule: pyrosulfuric acid.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
pyro-
or before a vowelpyr-
combining form
1. denoting fire, heat, or high temperature: pyromania; pyrometer.
2. (General Physics) caused or obtained by fire or heat: pyroelectricity.
3. (Chemistry) chem
a. denoting a new substance obtained by heating another: pyroboric acid is obtained by heating boric acid.
b. denoting an acid or salt with a water content intermediate between that of the ortho- and meta- compounds: pyro-phosphoric acid.
4. (Minerals) mineralogy
a. having a property that changes upon the application of heat: pyromorphite.
b. having a flame-coloured appearance: pyroxylin.
[from Gk pur fire]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
pyro-
1. a combining form meaning “fire,” “heat,” “high temperature,” used in the formation of compound words: pyrogen; pyromancy.
2.
Also, esp. before h or a vowel, pyr-. a. a combining form used in the names of inorganic acids, the water content of which is intermediate between the ortho and meta forms of an acid: pyrophosphoric acid.
b. a combining form used in the names of the salts of these acids.
[< Greek pyro-, comb. form of pŷr fire]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.