Here you’ll find 11 Prefixes that start with K, organized from “kak-” to “kypho-“. They are mostly Greek or scientific in origin and help form terms in medicine, measurement, taxonomy, and everyday vocabulary.
Prefixes that start with K are short word elements placed before roots to change meaning. Many come from Greek, such as “kak-” (bad) and “kilo-” (thousand), which entered English through scientific and measurement terms.
Below you’ll find the table with Prefix, Origin, Meaning, and Example words.
Prefix: The prefix itself appears so you can see the exact form used when building or recognizing words.
Origin: The language source and brief etymology show historical background and typical usage contexts you should expect.
Meaning: A concise summary of sense or function that shows how the prefix alters the base word’s meaning.
Example words: Two to four clear examples illustrate common or useful words you can recognize or build from the prefix.
Prefixes that start with K
| Prefix | Origin | Meaning | Example words |
|---|---|---|---|
| kilo- | metric Greek combining form | one thousand | kilogram, kilometer, kilobyte |
| kibi- | IEC binary prefix (coinage) | 2^10 (1,024) | kibibyte, kibibit |
| kerato- | Greek (keras, “horn”) | horn; cornea | keratoplasty, keratosis, keratin |
| karyo- | Greek karyon (kernel, nucleus) | cell nucleus | karyotype, karyon, karyocyte |
| kinesi- | Greek kinesis (movement) | movement; motion | kinesiology, kinesitherapy, kinesiophobia |
| kymo- | Greek kyma (wave) | wave; motion | kymograph, kymogram |
| kypho- | Greek kyphos (bent, hump) | humped; convex curvature | kyphosis, kyphotic |
| kappa- | Greek letter kappa | letter K; a class or type | kappa-opioid, kappa-casein, kappa light chain |
| kali- | New Latin (kalium, from Arabic/Sanskrit) | potassium-related | hypokalemia, hyperkalemia, kaliuria |
| klepto- | Greek kleptein (to steal) | stealing; theft | kleptomania, kleptocracy, kleptomaniac |
| kak- | Greek kakos (bad, worst) | bad; worst | kakistocracy, kakorrhaphiophobia |