combining form from Greek chóndros "grain (of wheat, salt, etc.), seed, groats, gristle, cartilage (this sense perhaps from the gritty texture of cartilage when chewed)," of uncertain origin
Note: Older etymological literature assumes that chóndros is dissimilated from *chrónd-ros, with a base *chrond- comparable to Germanic *grindan- "to grind" and Latin frendere "to grind one's teeth" (see grind entry 1). However, if going back to an Indo-European base, the Latin verb requires an initial *ghw-, which could not yield ch- in Greek. An Indo-European source for chóndros thus remains questionable.