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homeo-

Also homoio‑ and homoeo-.

Similar.

Greek homoios, like or similar.

In homeopathy (Greek patheia, suffering or feeling) disease is treated by minute doses of substances that in a healthy person would produce symptoms of the disease, so treating like with like. Homeostasis is the tendency for plant and animal populations to remain in stable equilibrium; two geometrical figures are homeomorphic if they are topologically equivalent, as a circle can be converted to a square.

Most words once written using homoeo‑ (homoeopath, homoeobox) or homoio‑ (homoiothermic) are now usually spelled with homeo‑ instead. Exceptions are those that are mainly historical in application, such as homoiousian, a person who held that God the Father and God the Son are of like but not identical substance.

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