labio

Labio is a term that originates from the Latin labium, meaning lip. In English scientific and medical usage, labio- is a combining form that signals a relationship to the lips. It appears in several compound terms describing lip-related structures or articulations, such as labial (lip-related), labiodental (involving the lips and teeth), and labiovelar (involving the lips and the velum).

In anatomy, the word labium refers to a lip-like structure. The labia oris are the lips of the mouth, and the terms labia majora and labia minora describe the outer and inner lips of the female external genitalia. The prefix labio- is used to form descriptors indicating lip-related anatomy or movements in medical contexts.

In linguistics and phonetics, labial sounds are produced with the lips. This category includes bilabial sounds, created by both lips, and labiodental sounds, produced with the lower lip and upper teeth. The combining form labio- appears in terms such as labial, labiodental, and labiovelar, which describe different ways the lips participate in articulation.

In botany and orchid terminology, the related term labellum (from Latin labellum, meaning “little lip”) refers to the specialized lip-like petal of many orchids. The etymology reflects the same lip image that underlies other labio-based terms.

In everyday language, words for lip in Romance languages show the root’s continued usage: for example, Spanish uses labio to mean lip, and related forms appear in other languages with similar origins.