-physis

The word morpheme-physis occurs at the ends of some anatomicalnames, usually of projecting parts of bones, and in some names of animals (e.g. Coelophysis). If with a Greekpreposition, as in e.g. X-physis, it means "a processwhich sticks out in the direction X"; otherwise it means "form", "nature". It is Greek ????? from the verb ??? = "I bring forth", "I produce", "I make to grow".

In the name Coelophysis, the meaning as with a preposition has spread to a usage without a preposition; the name is a bahuvrihiwhich was probably intended to mean "having hollow processes (on its bones)".

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It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/-physis Wikipedia article -physis.