-plasiacomb. form
Primary stress is attracted to the first syllable of this combining form and vowels may be reduced accordingly; see e.g.
neoplasia n.Origin: A borrowing from Greek, combined with an English element. Etymons: Greek πλάσις , -ia suffix1.
Etymology: < ancient Greek πλάσις moulding, conformation ( < πλάσσειν to form, mould (see plastic n.) + -σις -sis suffix) + -ia suffix1. Compare Byzantine Greek -πλασία , combining form (in σκευοπλασία moulding of pots, pottery). Compare French -plasie (formations in which are found from the first half of the 19th cent., apparently earliest in hétéroplasie heteroplasia n.), German -plasie (formations in which are found from at least the second half of the 19th cent.).Formations in English are found from the second half of the 19th cent. Combining chiefly with first elements of Greek origin, although compare fibroplasia n. at fibro- comb. form , with a first element of Latin origin.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online December 2020).