The basic meaning of the prefix geo- is “country or land.” It comes from the Greek prefix geo-, from the Greek word ge, meaning “earth” in the sense of “ground or land.” Thus geography (from Greek geo- plus graphia, “writing") is “the study of Earth and its surface features.” When used to form words in English, geo- can mean either “Earth” or “geography.” For example, geomagnetism refers to the magnetism of Earth, and geopolitics refers to the relationship between politics and geography.
