olig- combining form oroligo- Etymology: Medieval Latin, from Greek, from oligos; akin to Greek loigos ruin, havoc, Old Irish līach miserable, unhappy, Lithuanian liga sickness, Armenian ałkat poor, scant, and perhaps to Greek liazesthai to bend, recoil, sink — more at less 1.: few < Oligochaeta > < oligogene > < oligomyodian > : few things < oligophagous > 2.medicine: deficiency : insufficiency < oligochromemia > < oliguria > 3.: little : small < oligolecithal >