Roots

English vocabulary includes short words like the article a as well as longer words such as inextricably and denunciation. Short words such as speak and solve are called base words or root words when they are derived from another language such as Greek or Latin because they CANNOT be broken down into smaller parts.

Although base or root words cannot be reduced to smaller parts, other word parts can be added to base words to produce longer words with various meanings. pre + fix = prefix

There are two kinds of word parts: base or root words and affixes (prefixes or suffixes). prefix + root + suffix affixes

Meanings of Roots Sometimes readers can determine the meaning of a word by defining its root. A root is a base word or word part, often derived from Greek or Latin, that contains the core meaning of the word. The meaning of the word varies depending upon the affix (prefix or suffix) that is used.

Roots have meaning. Study the following roots, their meanings, and some examples of words in which they appear. Greek Latin

Word Origins: Greek Greek RootMeaningEnglish Words anthrophuman anthropology, anthropomorphic biblbook bibliography, Bible chromcolor monochrome, chromatic dermskin dermatology, Epidermis gnosknow agnostic, Diagnostic

Word Origins: Greek Greek RootMeaningEnglish Words orthstraight orthodox, orthodontist phillike, love philosophy, philanthropy photolight photograph, photogenic pyrofire pyromaniac, pyrotechnics thermheat thermometer, thermal

Word Origins: Latin Latin RootMeaningEnglish Words dictsay, speak contradict, predict, verdict medihalf, middle mediate, medieval novnew novel, renovate, novice satissufficient, enough saturate, satisfy spirbreath inspire, respiration

Word Origins: Latin Latin RootMeaningEnglish Words torttwist torture, contort tribpay, bestow tribute, attribute vencome Intervene, venture vissee revise, vista vorswallow devour, carnivorous

Homework For each root word that we have studied today, find another example word and its meaning.