Letter N

Neo- (prefix)

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Prefix meaning new.

From the Greek 'neos', new, young, fresh, recent.

Examples of terms starting with 'neo-' include neonatal and neonate (the newborn), neoplasia and neoplasm (new growth = tumor), etc.

The opposite of neo- is paleo-.

Although paleo- does enter occasionally into medical usage, it is far less commonly encountered than neo- in medicine (and on the pharmacy shelves where there is Neomycin but no Paleomycin).

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