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The combining form -gon is used like a suffix meaning “angled; angular.” It is often used in technical terms, especially in geometry.

The form -gon comes from Greek ��ō��í��, meaning “angle.” The Latin translation of ��ō��í�� is angulus, which is the source of angular and triangle. To learn more, check out our entries for both words.

An example of a word you may have encountered that features -gon ������polygon, “a figure, especially a closed plane figure, having three or more, usually straight, sides.” The word polygon comes from Greek ��DZ�ý��ō�ԴDz�, which uses the equivalent of the form -gon in that language.

The form poly- means “many,” from Greek ��DZ�ý��. As we have already seen, the suffix -gon means “angled.” Polygon literally translates to “many-angled.”

What are some words that use the equivalent of the combining form -gon in Greek?

• heptagon
• hexagon
• pentagon
• trigon

What are some other forms that -gon may be commonly confused with?

• -gonium
• -gony

Not every word that ends with the exact letters -gon, such as wagon or martagon, is necessarily using the combining form -gon to denote “angled.” Learn why wagon means “four-wheeled vehicle” at our entry for the word.

The combining form tri- means “three.” With this in mind, what does trigon literally mean?