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The combining form –pod is used like a suffix meaning “one having a foot” or “-footed.” It is often used to denote a single member of a class in zoology. For example, a member of the class Cephalopoda (which includes mollusks like squid), is a cephalopod.

The form –pod comes from Greek –pous, meaning “-footed.” The Latin cognate of –pous is –��ŧ��, “-footed,” and is the source of several combining forms related to the lower extremities, including –ped, –pede, and pedi–. Discover more at our �������t¶��s That Use articles for each of these three forms.

What are the variants of -pod?��

Though -pod doesn’t have any variants, it shares an origin with the combining forms pod-, podo–, –poda, –pode, –podium, and –podous. Want to know more? Read our �������t¶��s That Use articles for all six forms.

An example of a word you may have encountered that features –pod is tripod, “a stool or table with three legs.” Tripod comes from Greek tripod-, which features the equivalent of the form in that language.

The tri– part of the word means “three,” from Greek �ٰ���î��, while the form –pod means “-footed.” Tripod literally translates to “three-footed.”

What are some words that use the combining form –pod?

• brachiopod (using the equivalent form of –pod in Latin)
• decapod (using the equivalent form of –pod in Latin)
• gonopod
• isopod (using the equivalent form of –pod in Latin)
• monopod
• octopod (using the equivalent form of –pod in Latin)

What are some other forms that –pod may be commonly confused with?

• -pedia
• -penia
• -ploid

Not every word that ends with the exact letters –pod, such as seedpod, is necessarily using the combining form –pod to denote “-footed.” Learn why seedpod means “seed vessel” at our entry for the word.

The combining form octo– means “eight.” With this in mind, what does octopod literally mean?