onc-

DEFINITION of onc-

The medical root onc- (or onco-) is a prefix that fundamentally means **a swelling, mass, bulk, or tumor**.

In modern healthcare, it serves as the universal linguistic building block for anything related to cancer study, diagnosis, and treatment.

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ETYMOLOGY of onc-

greek

Component	Origin	Meaning
onc-	[Greek] ὄγκον (onkon)	“Tumor,” “Swelling,” “Lump” — Noun-forming root
onk-	[Greek] ὄγκον (onkon), from onkos (ὄγκον)	“Tumor,” “Swelling,” “Lump,” “Mass"
-oma	[Greek] -ωμα (-oma)	Noun-forming suffix — “mass or tumor”

The word entered English in the 1800s as tumor (noun), borrowed from Latin tumor, from Greek ὄγκον (onkon) — literally “swelling” or “lump.” The root onkos (“swelling”) connects onc- to the entire Oncological family: oncology (onkos + logos → study of tumors), oncogenesis (onkos + genesis → formation of tumors), and neoplasm (new growth). The root onc- is highly productive in medical terminology, appearing in terms such as oncology, oncologist, oncotype, and oncocytoma.

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RELATED TERMS to onc-

• Oncology: The branch of medicine dedicated to diagnosing, treating, and preventing cancer.
• Oncologist: A physician who specializes in treating cancer.
• Oncogenesis: The process by which normal cells are transformed into cancer cells (also called carcinogenesis).
• Oncogene: A gene that has the potential to cause cancer when mutated or expressed at high levels.
• Oncolytic: Something that destroys tumor cells (e.g., an oncolytic virus used in targeted cancer therapy).

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DERIVATIONS of onc-

TABLE definition AS Definition 
WHERE length(filter(roots, (word) => econtains([[]].roots, word))) > 0 AND file.name != [[]].file.name
SORT file.name ASC

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Query

TABLE definition AS Definition
FROM #medroot
WHERE length(filter(definition, (word) => econtains([[]].definition, word))) > 0 AND file.name != [[]].file.name

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