Ancient Greek word root · Water & Fire

therm-: heat

therm- is an Ancient Greek root meaning “heat”. Learn its variants and explore 7 connected words.

Meaning and variants

Meaning: heat

Root forms: therm-, thermo-

Source word: θερμός — warm, hot, boiling, glowing

Word family and examples

• thermometer

  an instrument for measuring temperature

• thermodynamics

  the branch of physics dealing with heat and energy

• thermostat

  A device that automatically responds to changes in temperature by activating a heating or cooling system to maintain the temperature at a desired setting.

• hypothermia

  Abnormally low body temperature; specifically, below 35 degrees Celsius for humans.

• hyperthermia

  The condition of having an abnormally high body temperature caused by a failure of the heat-regulating mechanisms of the body to deal with the heat coming from the environment.

• thermite

  A mixture of a metal and a metal oxide capable of producing a thermite reaction, such as aluminium metal and ferric oxide; used in incendiary devices.

• thermostatic

  having or maintaining a consistent temperature

Root connections help with vocabulary recall. They are not a complete etymological history, and a spelling match alone does not prove a relationship.

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