Words Showing Similarities or Equivalence to Something Else: absinthine to axine,
Part 1 of 7.
The suffix Greek > Latin: -ine is used to form hundreds of words that mean similar to, resembling, like, characterized by, or of the nature of.
absinthine:
Having the characteristics of absinth; bitter.
acanthine:
1. Of, or pertaining to, the Acanthus [thorny, prickly, spiny] plants. In popular use, the name is chiefly native to the shores of the Mediterranean, and cultivated in England, celebrated among the Greeks and Romans for the elegance of its leaves.
acarine:
1. Of, belonging, or due, to Acari or mites.
2. The family Acariformes, a diverse suborder of mites (Acari) comprising three subgroups that include phytophagous, fungivorous, predatory, and parasitic forms.
3. A member of the order Acarina.
accipitrine:
1. A reference to hawks and eagles.
2. The family Accipitridae, eagles, harriers, hawks, kites, Old World vultures; large and diverse family of raptors (Falconiformes) distributed worldwide except for polar regions; feeding mainly on small vertebrates captured
using powerful feet, some feeding on carrion; solitary or gregarious in habits, monogamous, nesting in trees, cliffs, or on the ground. There are about 215 species.
Some writers use accipitrine figuratively as the equivalent of predatory.
acephaline:
Denoting members of the protozoan suborder Acephalina (order Eugregarinida), characterized by simple noncompartmentalized bodies, that parasitize invertebrates.
acervuline:
Of the form or appearance of little heaps.
acipenserine:
1. A reference to sturgeons included in the family Acipenseridae that consists of large (1 to 5.5 meters) freshwater or anadromous fishes that are widespread in the northern hemisphere. They have spindle-shaped bodies bearing rows of large bony scutes [external-bony scales]; mouth protrusible; teeth absent in adults; swim bladder large; contains twenty-five species, some exploited commercially; eggs marketed as caviar.
adamantine:
1. Made of or resembling adamant (a legendary stone thought to be impenetrable); having the hardness or luster of a diamond.
2. Characterized as unyielding, inflexible; resolute.
adulterine:
1. Characterized by adulteration (to make impure, spurious, or inferior by adding extraneous or improper ingredients); spurious.
2. Illegal, unauthorized by law.
3. Born of adultery (voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a partner other than the lawful spouse).
aedine:
Like the mosquito of the genus Aädes that transmits diseases such as yellow fever and dengue.
agatine:
Having the appearance of agate; of the nature of agate.
alabastrine:
Of or resembling alabaster.
alaudine:
1. Having the characteristics of skylarks.
2. Larks, are members of the family Alaudidae which consists of about eighty species of small terrestrial passerine birds found worldwide in open barren areas and on shores. They are gregarious, migratory, feed on invertebrates, and nest alone on the ground.
alcelaphine:
Similar to or like antelopes.
alci(di)ne:
1. Similar to auks and puffins.
2. The Alcidae family consists of twenty-three species of diving seabirds found in the northern hemisphere; wings short and rounded offering poor flight but efficient underwater swimming. They are gregarious, migratory, and feed mostly on fish and crustaceans.
alectoridine:
Of the nature of cranes and rails.
alkaline:
1. Relating to or having the reaction of an alkali.
2. Of or pertaining to alkalis; of the nature of an alkali.
alpestrine:
Growing at high altitudes; alpine or subalpine.
alpine:
1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of the Alps or their inhabitants or to high mountains.
2. In biology, living or growing on mountains above the timberline.
amaranthine:
1. Of, relating to, or resembling the amaranth; a color of deep purple-red.
2. Eternally beautiful and unfading; everlasting.
amygdaline:
Of, relating to, or resembling an almond.
anatine:
1. Similar to ducks; of or pertaining to, resembling or characteristic of, a duck.
2. A diverse family, the Anatidae, including ducks, geese, and swans. There are said to be 145 species of small to large water birds (Anseriformes), that exist in freshwater and coastal marine habitats. They feed on a wide variety of plants and animals; most of them are monogamous and are solitary during breeding. They nest on the ground or in trees and some are important as game birds or domesticated fowl.
anguine:
Like snakes; snaky; of or resembling a snake or a serpent.
anopheline:
Of or resembling mosquitoes.
anserine:
Of, pertaining to, or of the nature of a goose; gooselike (as the goose is conventionally thought to be unintelligent); characterized as stupid, silly.
antilopine:
Of or pertaining to antelopes.
aprine:
Of or pertaining to wild swine.
aquiline:
Eagle-like, having the characteristics of an eagle; especially of the nose or features; such as, curved like an eagles beak, hooked.
argentine:
Relating to or resembling silver; silvery.
arietine:
Of or like a ram.
asbestine:
Of, pertaining to, or having the properties of, asbestos; not likely to burn, incombustible.
aselline:
Of or pertaining to a little ass, or to the two stars in Cancer called Aselli.
asinine:
1. Similar to asses or donkeys.
2. Having the qualities by which the ass is characterized: obstinate, stupid, doltish, silly, etc.
Equidae is the scientific family term for horses, zebras, asses, and donkeys; a family of large terrestrial mammals (Perissodactyla) comprising seven species, now mostly domesticated. All of them are herbivorous, grazing primarily on grasses, and living in small to large herds. The Presoakings horse from central Asia is the only existing wild horse known. The group also contains the gauge, an extinct wild zebra from southern Africa.
aspine:
Pertaining to asps or vipers; of or pertaining to an asp; snaky. They are part of the Viperidae family, that includes vipers, rattlesnakes, and moccasins. This family contains about 180 species of medium-sized highly venomous snakes (Serpentes) and are typically terrestrial, nocturnal, feed on small mammals, and a few species are arboreal or fossorial [adapted for digging or burrowing]. They reproduce via oviparous or ovoviviparous.
australopithecine:
Of, relating to, or characteristic of these extinct humanlike primates.
avine:
1. Characteristic of birds.
2. The scientific family, Aves, consists of birds; class of feathered, bipedal, with forelimbs specialized as wings for flight, and without teeth. Reproduction is oviparous, fertilization internal; eggs are yolked, amniotic, and with shells.
axine:
Of or pertaining to the group of stags of which the Spotted Axis is a type.