néo-
\ne.ɔ\
The verdict
“néo-” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prefix. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 4
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Préfixe exprimant la nouveauté, qui sert à composer des termes didactiques (en particulier, en philosophie, des termes désignant certaines écoles qui se rattachent à une école antérieure qu’elles c...
Corpus desk
Index FR-neo · néo- · French
néo- · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "N" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | néo- |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Prefix |
| IPA | \ne.ɔ\ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « néo- » en français
Rare enough to double-check
néo- is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as aprefix, transcribed \ne.ɔ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for néo-, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is néo-, spelled N-É-O--.
Definition
- 1Préfixe exprimant la nouveauté, qui sert à composer des termes didactiques (en particulier, en philosophie, des termes désignant certaines écoles qui se rattachent à une école antérieure qu’elles continuent à certains égards).
- 2Remplace Nouveau- ou Nouvelle- dans un toponyme pour former un gentilé.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how néo- appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Les Néo-Zélandais en Nouvelle-Zélande.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.