A point or spot that resembles or functions like a focus, particularly in mathematical or optical contexts.
From 'focal' + '-oid' (suffix meaning 'resembling'). The '-oid' suffix comes from Greek '-oeides' and creates words for things that look like or are similar to another thing.
The '-oid' suffix is a linguistic workhorse in science—dinosaur, asteroid, android, paranoid—all meaning 'like' or 'resembling' something, letting scientists name new discoveries by comparison.
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