ortho: Meaning and Definition of

or•tho

1. pertaining to or occupying two adjacent positions in the benzene ring. Cf.,.

ortho-

1. a combining form occurring in loanwords from Greek, where it meant “straight,” “upright,” “right,” “correct” (orthodox) and on this model used in the formation of compound words (orthopedic).
1. a combining form used in the name of that acid in a given series of acids that contains the most water (orthoboric acid). Cf.meta-, pyro-.
2. a combining form used in the names of the salts of these acids: if the acid ends in -ic, the corresponding salt ends in -ate (orthoboric acid (H3BO3) and potassium orthoborate (K3BO3)); if the acid ends in -ous, the corresponding salt ends in -ite (orthoantimonous acid (H3SbO3) and potassium orthoantimonite (K3SbO3)).