xeno-

especially before a vowel, xen-.

1. a combining form meaning “alien,” “strange,” “guest,” used in the formation of compound words.

   xenogamy, xenolith.

xeno-

combining form

1. indicating something strange, different, or foreign

   xenogamy

Word History and Origins

Origin of xeno-¹

Combining form of Greek xénos stranger, guest (noun); alien, foreign, strange (adj.)

Word History and Origins

Origin of xeno-¹

from Greek xenos strange

Example Sentences

“Some of it, as you can see, is pretty gory, horrific deaths. Some caused by the Xeno, some by other creatures, some by humans, who are the real animals.”

From Salon

“I don’t know if some of the older movies had some of the stunt techniques that we have now, the wire work, and the fact that we can kind of fly the Xeno around and stuff like that. So it’s not so much just coming out and scaring you and having that kind of jump scare. It’s literally flying through the air. It’s chasing.”

From Salon

He was back on his feet by the early 1990s, said his son Xeno Rasmusson, but stopped performing in 2018 after he had a heart attack and seizure.

From Washington Post

The mini-fest offers an audio-visual feast, with new wave pioneer Gary Numan leading the lineup on Friday alongside Adult, Xeno & Oaklander and Kanga.

From Los Angeles Times

Human immune systems won’t tolerate cross-species, or “xeno,” transplants because many pig genes code for incompatible proteins, and the Prather group wanted to cripple production of one protein that triggers particularly strong antibody responses.

From Science Magazine

When To Use

What does xeno- mean?

Xeno- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “alien,” “strange,” or “guest.” It is used in a variety of domains, including in botany, medicine, mineralogy, the social sciences, and zoology.Xeno- comes from the Greek xénos, a noun meaning “stranger, guest" or an adjective meaning “foreign, strange.” The name of the chemical element (and noble gas) Xenon also derives from the Greek xénos.What are variants of xeno-?When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, xeno- becomes xen-, as in xenarthral.