olig-

combining form or oligo-

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

* * *

olig-,

combining form. the form of oligo- (Cf. ↑oligo-) before vowels, as in oligarch.