word-forming element meaning "very cold, freezing," from Latinized form of Greek kryos "icy cold," related to kryeros "chilling" (from PIE root *kreus- "to begin to freeze, form a crust").
Entries linking to cryo-
*kreus-
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to begin to freeze, form a crust."
It forms all or part of: crouton; crust; Crustacea; crustacean; cryo-; cryogenic; crystal; crystalline; crystallize; custard; encrust; Kristallnacht.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit krud- "make hard, thicken;" Avestan xruzdra- "hard;" Greek krystallos "ice, crystal," kryos "icy cold, frost;" Latin crusta "rind, crust, shell, bark;" Lettish kruwesis "frozen mud;" Old High German hrosa "ice, crust;" Old English hruse "earth;" Old Norse hroðr "scurf."
cryogenic adj.
"of or involving very low temperatures," 1896, from cryo- "freezing" + -genic "having to do with production" (from PIE root *gene- "give birth, beget"). Cryogen "freezing mixture, that which produces cold" is attested from 1875. Related: Cryogenics (1958).