zygo-

Joining or pairing.

Greek zugon, yoke.

A zygote (Greek zugōtos, yoked) is a diploid cell, a fertilized ovum, resulting from the fusion of two haploid gametes; a bird that is zygodactyl (Greek daktulos, finger) has a pair of toes pointing forward and another pair backward, like a parrot; the zygomatic bone forms the prominent part of the cheek and the outer side of the eye socket, at the junction between the cranial and facial bones; a zygospore is the thick-walled resting cell of certain fungi and algae, arising from the fusion of two similar gametes.