glott

Glott is a linguistic combining form derived from the Greek glōtta, meaning tongue or language. It is used to form terms related to speech, vocal production, and the anatomy of the vocal tract. In English, glott appears as glott- in several technical words and in the related form glotto- in others.

In practice, glott- appears in words such as glottal (relating to the glottis, the opening between the vocal cords), glottography (the recording or tracing of glottal activity), and glottology or glottochronology (historical terms in the study of languages and their divergence). The prefix or root is primarily a bound morpheme, not a standalone word in modern English, and it is most common in specialized linguistic terminology.

Etymologically, the root traces back to Greek glōtta, via Latinized scientific terminology, reflecting the traditional association of language and tongue in early linguistic study. The glott- form is part of a broader family of Greek-derived roots used to describe speech organs and phonation.

Notes and usage can vary by word and era. Modern terminology often prefers glotto- for some compounds (as in glottochronology) and glottal for adjectival or noun forms (as in glottal stop). The two forms intersect in many historical and contemporary linguistics texts, depending on the specific term and its linguistic tradition.

See also: glottis, glottal stop, glottology, glottochronology, glottography.