Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions
abyss - without bottom; achromatic - without
a/n not, without Greek color; anhydrous - without water afire - on fire; ashore - on the shore; aside - on the a on Latin side abduct - carry away by force; abnormal - away from normal, not normal; absent - away, not a, ab/s from, away, off Latin present; aversion - the act of turning away from; abbreviate: to shorten. accelerate - to increase the speed of; accessible - a/c/d to, toward, near Latin easily entered, approached, or obtained; admittance - allowing into; acrobat - a "high walker"; acronym - a word top, height, tip, acro Greek formed from the first (capital) letters of a word; beginning acrophobia - fear of height activity - something that a person does; react - to act do Latin do something in response; interaction - communication between two or more things aerate - to let air reach something; aerial - relating aer/o air Greek to the air; aerospace - the air space agriculture - management of the land, agribusiness Latin agr/i/o farming - making money by utilizing land; agrarian - Greek relating to the management of land neuralgia - pain caused by a nerve; analgesic - a alg/o pain Latin drug that makes one pain free; nostalgia - aching for the familiar ambidextrous - able to use both hands equally; ambi, both, on both ambiguous - having more than one meaning; Latin amphi sides, around ambivalence - conflicting or opposite feelings toward a person or thing amble - to walk in a slow, relaxed way; ambulant - ambul walk, move Latin walking or moving around; ambulance - a vehicle that moves a patient amiable - friendly, pleasant, lovable; amity - ami/o love Latin friendly and peaceful relations; amorous - showing romantic love up, back, analysis - a close examination of something; against, anatomy - the structure of something as visible ana Greek again, when cut up for analysis; anachronism - not being throughout in the right place in time Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions androgynous - being both male and female; andr/o man, male Greek android - resembling a human; misandry - hatred towards men animal - a living organism; animate - to make anim life, spirit Latin alive; equanimity - of balanced spirit anniversary - a date observed once a year; annual - ann/enn year Latin happening once a year; millennium - 1,000 years antecede - to come before something in time; ante before, in front Latin antemeridian - before noon; anteroom- a small room before the main room chrysanthemum and amaranth - names of flowers; anthology - a collection of treasured writings; anth/o flower Greek anthozoan - half plant, half animal, like anemones and corals. anthropology - the study of mankind; anthropomorphism - giving human form to non- anthrop/o human Greek human things; philanthropy - the love to mankind (expressed through good deeds) antibody - a substance that destroys micro- against, anti Greek organisms; antiseptic - preventing infection; opposite of antisocial - opposing social norm aphorism - a short expression of a general truth; away, off, apology - an explicit expression of regret, apo, apho Greek separate apostrophe - a small dash used in place of an omitted letter aquarium - a water container for fish; aquatic- aqu/a water Latin relating to water; aqueduct - a pipeline for water arborist - someone working with trees; arbor - a arbor tree Latin shady area formed by trees; arborous - having many trees archbishop - the highest ranking bishop; chief, most archenemy - chief or worst enemy; matriarch - a arch/i Greek important, rule female who rules a group; monarch - a king or queen archaeology - the study of ancient cultures; primitive, arch/a/i Greek archaic - belonging to an earlier period; archive - a ancient collection of historical materials arthroscope - a tool to see inside a joint; arthritis - Latin arthr/o joint inflammation of a joint; arthropod - invertebrates Greek with jointed legs, like spiders, crustaceans, insects Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions artifact - object made by a person's skill; artisan - art skill Latin a person skilled in a craft; artist - a person who creates skillfully astronaut - a person traveling to the stars; astro, star, stars, outer astronomer - someone who studies the stars; Greek aster space asterisk - a star-shaped sign used as a reference tool audible - loud enough to be heard; audience - aud/i/io hear Latin people who listen to a program; audiovisual - relating to sound and vision autocrat - a person who governs with absolute auto self, same, one Greek power; autograph - a person's own signature; automatic - moving by itself aviary - a large enclosure for birds; aviatrix - a avi/a bird Latin female airplane pilot; aviation - the art of designing or operating aircraft baric - pertaining to pressure, esp. of the pressure, atmosphere; milliard - metric unit, equal to bar/o Greek weight 1/1000th of a bar; baryon - heavy elementary particle bellicose - warlike; belligerent - hostile, ready to bell/i war Latin fight; rebel - person who opposes and fights benefactor - person who gives money to a cause; bene good, well Latin beneficial - producing a good effect; benevolent - showing kindness or goodwill two, twice, biannual - happening twice a year; binoculars - bi/n once in every Latin optical device with two lenses; bilateral - of or two involving two sides bibliography - a list of books used as sources; bibli/o book Greek bibliomania - an extreme love of books; bibliophile - a person who loves books biography- a life story written by another person; life, living bio Greek biology - the science of life; biosphere - Earth's matter surface inhabited by living things blastula - an early stage of embryonic cell, primitive, development; fibroblast - a cell that forms blast/o Greek immature cell connective tissue; blastoderm - the layer surrounding the inside of an egg bursar- an administrative officer in charge of burs pouch, purse Latin funds; bursary- the treasury of a college or Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions monastery; disburse- to expend especially from a public fund calcite; calcium- the flame of acetylene gas generated by reaction of calcium carbide with calc stone Latin water; calcification- impregnation with calcareous matter candid- free from bias, prejudice, or malice; glowing, candle- something that gives light; cand Latin iridescent incandescent- white, glowing, or luminous with intense heat intercept - to stop or interrupt; capt, cept, take, hold Latin ceive perceive - to take notice of something; captivating - taking hold of cardiac - relating to the heart; cardiogenic - cardi/o heart Greek resulting from heart disease; cardiologist - a heart doctor carnivorous - flesh-eating; carnal - pertaining to carn/i flesh, meat Latin the body or flesh; incarnate - given bodily form down, against cataclysm - a flood or other disaster, catalog - a completely, cata Greek complete listing; catastrophe - turning for the intensive, worst, a substantial disaster according to cauterize - to burn with a hot instrument; caustic - caust, Latin to burn capable of burning or eating away; holocaust - caut Greek total devastation, especially by fire cede, exceed - to go beyond the limits; recede - to go ceed, go, yield Latin back; accessible - easily entered, approached, or cess obtained; accelerate - to increase the speed of; decelerate - celer fast Latin to reduce the speed of hundred, centennial- the 100th anniversary; centimeter - cent/i Latin hundredth 1/100 of a meter; century - 100 years egocentric - self-centered; eccentric - not having a centr/o/i center Greek common center, not according to norm; centrifugal - moving outward from a center encephalitis - inflammation of the brain; cephalic - pertaining to the head; cephalopod - marine cephal/o head Greek mollusks like octopus and squid who have tentacles growing from their head Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions cerebral - pertaining to the brain; cerebrate - to use cerebr/o brain Latin the brain; cerebrospinal - pertaining to the brain and the spinal cord ascertain- to find out something with certainty; cert sure Latin certain - being absolutely sure; certify - to state that something is true chrom/o achromatic - without color; chromium - a blue- chromat/o, color, pigment Greek white metallic chemical element, chromatics - the chros study of color chronic - lasting for a long time; chronological - chron/o time Greek arranging events in time order, synchronize - happening at the same time chrysanthemum and helichrysum - golden/yellow chrys/o gold, yellow Greek flowers; chrysolite - a yellowish gem homicide - murder; incisor - a sharp tooth for cide, cise cut, kill Latin cutting food; insecticide - a chemical used to kill insects circum, circumnavigate - to sail around; circumscribe - to around, about Latin circle draw around; circumspect - looking around clamor - to shout and make noise; exclaim - to cry claim, clam shout, speak out Latin out loudly and suddenly; proclamation - something announced officially in public clarification - an explanation; clarify - to make clar clear Latin something clear; declare - to state something clearly conclusion - the end or last part; exclusion - clud, clus close Latin shutting out, rejecting; seclude - to keep away from; to isolate inclination - a leaning toward; incline - a surface cline lean Latin that slopes or leans; recline - to lean back and relax coauthor - writer who collaborates with another with, together, author; coeducation - educating males and females co Latin joint together; cohousing - planning your neighborhood in an intentional neighborly fashion Collaborate - to work together; collision - col together, jointly Latin smashing together; colloquial - words formed by everday interaction together, commemorate - to memorize together; com Latin common composition - an arrangement or putting together Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions of parts; commune - living together while owning things in common cognition - process of acquiring knowledge; cogn/i know Latin incognito - disguised so no one knows you; recognize - to discover that one knows concur - to agree with someone; contemporary - of con with, jointly Latin the same time period as others; convention - a gathering of people with a common interest contradict to argue against, Contraflow, against, contra/o Latin contraception, contrary not in agreement, opposite controversy disagreement corporation - a company recognized by law as a corp/o body Latin single body; corpse - a dead body; corporal - pertaining to the body cosmonaut - a Russian astronaut; cosmos - the cosm/o universe Greek universe; microcosm - a miniature universe opposite, counteract - to oppose the effects of an action; counter contrary, countermand - to cancel a previous order; opposing counteroffensive - attack against an attack craniology - the study of skull characteristics; cranio skull Greek cranium - skull of vertebrates; cranial - pertaining to the skull credence - belief that something is true or valid; cred believe Latin credulous - believing things too easily, gullible; incredible - unbelievable crucial-characteristic of or having the form of a cross ; crucifix- the cross itself as a Christian cruc cross Latin emblem; excruciating- so intense as to cause great pain or anguish cryptic - of hidden meaning; cryptography - crypto hidden, secret Greek science of secret codes; encrypt - encode into secret code accumulate - to gather or pile up; cumulative - cumul mass, heap Latin gradually building up concurrent- running parallel; current- flowing curr, curs run Latin easily and smoothly; cursive- having a flowing, easy, impromptu character bicycle - a vehicle with two wheels; cycle - a cycl circle, ring Greek sequence that is repeated; cyclone - a storm with circling winds Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions reduce, away, decelerate - to slow down, reduce speed; dethrone de Latin down, remove - to remove from power; debug - to remove bugs decade - 10 years; decathlon - athletic contest that dec/a, includes 10 disciplines in which each participant ten Greek deka competes; December - formerly the 10th month of the Roman calendar deciliter - a tenth of a liter; decimate - reduce deci one tenth Latin dramatically; decibel - one tenth of the sound volume unit bel democracy - government of the people; dem/o people Greek demographic - the study of people; epidemic - spreading among people in a region demitasse - a small cup of coffee; demimonde - demi half, less than Latin someone of little respected life style philodendron - a climbing plant that grows on trees; dendrochronology - dating events by dendr/o/i tree Greek studying growth rings in trees; dendriform - in the shape of a tree dental - relating to teeth; dentist - a doctor for the dent, dont tooth Latin teeth; dentures - a set of false teeth dermatologist - a doctor for the skin; pachyderm - derm/a skin Greek a class of animals with very thick skin (elephant, rhinoceros); dermatitis - inflammation of the skin dichromatic - displaying two colors; diploma - a certificate, literally "a letter folded double"; di/plo two, twice Greek dilemma - a situation that requires a choice between two alternatives. apart, away, digression - a departure from the main issue, di/s not, to the Latin subject; disappear - to move out of sight; dissect - opposite to cut apart piece by piece. diabetes - disease characterized by excessive thirst through, and discharge of urine; diagnosis - understanding dia between, Greek a condition by going through a detailed review of apart, across symptoms; dialog - conversation between two people. contradict - to express the opposite of; prediction - dict speak Latin a statement foretelling the future; dictate - to speak out loud for another person to write down. dominate - to be the master of; domineering - domin master Latin excessively controlling; predominate - to have more power than others Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions donation - a contribution or gift; donor - someone don/at give Latin who gives something; pardon - to give forgiveness for an offense conduct - to lead musicians in playing music; duc/t lead Latin educate - to lead to knowledge; deduction - a subtraction of an amount. duplicate - make an identical copy; duet - a musical composition for two voices or du/o two, twice Latin instruments; duo - a pair normally thought of as being together. durable - having the quality of lasting; duration - harden, to last, dur Latin the length of time something lasts; enduring - able lasting to last. dynamo - a generator of energy; dynamic - having power, energy, dyn/a/am Greek physical energy/power; dynamite - a powerful strength explosive. dyspepsia - abnormal digestion; dystopia - an dys abnormal, bad Greek imaginary place of total misery; dyslexia - impairment of the ability to handle words. eloquent - speaking beautifully and forcefully; e- out, away Latin emissary - a representative of a country or group sent on a mission; eject - throw out forcefully. egoistic - self-centered; alter ego - a higher aspect Latin ego self of oneself; egomania - excessive preoccupation Greek with oneself. into, cover empathy - intention to feel like another person; em, en with, cause empower - put into power; engorge - make larger. endotherm - a creature that can keep its inside temperature fairly constant; endocrine - relating to endo within, inside Greek glands that secrete directly into the blood or lymph; endogamy - the custom to marry within one's clan, tribe etc. bicentennial - of or relating to an age or period of 200 years; centennial - of or relating to an age or enn/i, anni years Latin period of 100 years; perennial -lasting through many years. envision - to picture in the mind; enclose - lock en, in inside, inwards Latin inside; inwards - towards the inside. epidemic - the rapid spread of something negative; on, upon, over, ep/i Greek epilogue - a short speech delivered after a play; among, at, epicenter - the center of an earthquake. Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions after, to, outside equidistant - an equal distance from two points; equ/i equal, equally Latin equanimity - calm temperament, evenness of temper; equation - a statement of equality. ergonomics - study of the working environment; energy - the power to accomplish work; energetics erg/o work Greek - science that looks at energy and its transformation. feeling, esthetician - someone who beautifies; aesthetic - esth/aesth sensation, Latin pertaining to a sense of beauty; kinesthesia - the beauty sensation of bodily movement. ethnic - pertaining to a defined group of people; ethno race, people Greek ethnocentric - focusing on the ethnicity of people; ethnology - the science of people and races. euphemism - replacing an offensive word with an eu good, well Greek inoffensive one; euphonious - having a pleasant sound; euphoria - feeling of well-being. excavate - to dig out; exhale - to breathe out; ex from, out, Latin extract - to pull out. extraordinary - beyond ordinary; extraterrestrial - extra, extro outside, beyond Latin outside the Earth; extrovert - an outgoing person. artifact - an object made by a person; factory - a fac/t make, do Latin place where things are made; malefact - a person who does wrong. confer - to bring an honor to someone; ferry - a bear, bring, fer Latin boat that carries passengers; transfer - to move to carry another place. confide - place trust in someone, fidelity - fid faith Latin faithfulness; fiduciary - a trustee; deflect - to bend course because of hitting flect bend Latin something; inflection - a bending in the voice's tone or pitch; flexible - easily bending. florist - someone working with flowers; floral - flor/a, flower Latin flowerlike; flora - the plant life of a particular time fleur or area completely (used to forsaken or forfeited - completely lost; forgiven - for intensify completely given (a release of debt). the meaning of a word) Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions forebear - ancestor; forebode - to give an advance in front of, fore warning of something bad; forecast - a preview of previous, earlier events to be. conformity- correspondence in form, manner, or form shape Latin character; formation- something that is formed; reformatory- intended for reformation fracture - a break; fragile - easy to break; fragment fract, frag break Latin or fraction - a part or element of a larger whole; fugitive - a person who is running away; refuge - a flee, run away, fug Latin sheltered place to flee to; refugee - a person escape seeking protection defunct - no longer working or alive; function - to funct perform, work Latin work or perform a role normally; malfunction - to fail to work correctly. confusion - being flooded with too much fus pour Latin information that is hard to make sense of; fuse - to melt by heating; infuse - to put into. gastric - pertaining to the stomach; gastronomy - gastr/o stomach Greek serving the stomach by providing good food; gastritis - inflammation of the stomach. genealogy - the study of the history of a family; birth, gen/o/e/ generation - all the people born at approximately production, Greek genesis the same time; genetic -relating to heredity formation, kind encoded in the genes. geography - study of the earth's surface; geology - earth, soil, geo Greek study of the structure of the earth; geoponics - soil global based agriculture. geriatrics - medicine pertaining to the elderly; ger old age Greek gerontocracy - the rule of the elders; gerontology - the science of aging. gigabyte - unit of computer storage space; giga a billion Greek gigahertz - unit of frequency (one billion Hz/sec); gigawatt unit of electric power (one billion watts). decagon - a polygon with 10 angles; diagonal - a Latin gon angle slanting line running across a space; octagon - a Greek geometrical figure with 8 angles. diagram - a simple drawing; grammar - rules of gram letter, written Greek how to write words in sentences; telegram - a message sent by telegraph. granary- a storehouse or repository for grain gran grain Latin especially after it is threshed or husked; granola- a Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions mixture of rolled oats and other ingredients; granule- a little grain (as of sugar) Graphology - the study of handwritings; autograph writing, - written with one's own hand; seismograph - a graph/y recording, Greek machine noting strength and duration of written earthquakes. gratify - to please someone; grateful - feeling grat pleasing Latin thankful; gratuity - a tip, token of appreciation. gynecology - the science of female reproductive gyn/o/e woman, female Greek health; gynephobia - fear of women; gynecoid - resembling a woman. digression - a departure from the main issue, gress, to step, to go Latin subject, etc.; progress - movement forward or grad/e/i onward; gradual - step by step. hectoliter - 100 liters; hectare - metric unit hect/o, hundred Greek equaling 100 ares or 10,000 square meters; hecat hectometer - 100 meters. helicopter - an aircraft with horizontal rotating helic/o spiral, circular Greek wing; helix - a spiral form; helicon - a circular tuba. heliotropism - movement or growth in relating to the sun; heliograph - apparatus used to send heli/o sun Greek message with the help of sunlight; helianthus - genus of plants including sunflowers. hemicycle - a semicircular structure; hemisphere - hemi half, partial Greek one half of the earth; hemistich - half a line of poetry. hemorrhage - clotting of the blood; hemorrhoids - Latin hem/o/a blood swelling of the blood vessels; hemoglobin - red Greek blood particle. hepatitis - inflammation of the liver; hepatoma - a hepa liver Latin tumor of the liver; hepatotoxic - toxic and damaging to the liver. heptagon - a shape with seven angles and seven sides; Heptateuch - the first seven books of the hept/a seven Greek Old Testament; heptameter - a line of verse consisting of seven metrical feet. herbicide - any chemical used to kill unwanted herbi grass, plant Latin plants, etc.; herbivorous - plant-eating; herbal - relating to plants. Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions heterogeneous - made up of unrelated parts; heteronyms - words with same spelling but hetero different, other Greek different meanings; heterodox - not conforming to traditional beliefs. hexagon - a shape with six angles/sides; hex/a six Greek hexameter - a verse measured in six; hexapod - having six legs. histology - study of the microscopic structure of histo tissue Greek tissues; histochemistry - study of the chemical constitution of cells and tissues. homogeneous - of the same nature or kind; homo, Latin like, alike, same homonym - sounding alike; homeopath - a therapy homeo Greek that is based on treating "same with same" hydrate - to add water to; hydrophobia - intense fear of water; hydroponics - growing plants in hydr/o liquid, water Greek liquid nutrient solution; hydraulic - operated by force created by a liquid. hygrometer - tool used to measure humidity; moisture, hygr/o Greek hygrograph - instrument for recording variations humidity in atmospheric humidity. too much, over, Latin hyperactive - very restless; hypercritical - too hyper excessive, Greek critical; hypertension - above normal pressure. beyond hypoglycemia - an abnormally low level of sugar in the blood; hypothermia - abnormally low body hyp/o under Greek temperature; hypothesis - a theory that is unproven but used under the assumption that it is true. geriatrics - medical care of the elderly; iatr/o medical care Greek pediatrician - a doctor who treats children; podiatry - medical care for feet. icon - an (often religious) image, in modern usage a simplified graphic of high symbolic content; Latin icon/o image iconology - science of symbols and icons; Greek iconoclast - someone who destroys religious images and traditional beliefs. idiomatic - Peculiar to a particular language; peculiar, idiosyncracy - a physical or mental characteristic idio personal, Greek typical or a particular person; idiot - someone who distinct is distinctly foolish or stupid. Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions illuminate - to give light to; innovation - a new il, in in, into Latin idea, method, or device; inspection - the act of examining or reviewing. illegal - not legal; impossible - not possible; ig, il, im, not, without Latin inappropriate - not appropriate; irresponsible - not in, ir responsible. image - a likeness of someone; imaginative - able imag likeness Latin to think up new ideas or images; imagine - to form a picture or likeness in the mind. infrastructure - underlying framework of a system; infra beneath, below Latin infrared - below the regular light spectrum. international - involving two or more countries; between, inter Latin intersection - place where roads come together; among, jointly intercept - to stop or interrupt the course of. intrastate - existing in one state; intravenous - intra, within, inside Latin inside or into a vein; introvert - shy person who intro keeps within him/herself. irredeemable - not redeemable; irreformable - not ir not Latin reformable; irrational - not rational. isobar - a line on a map connecting points of equal barometric pressure; isometric - having equality of iso equal measure; isothermal - having equal or constant temperature. eject - to throw someone/something out; interject - ject throw Latin to throw a remark into a discussion; project - to cast or throw something. judgment - a decision of a court of law; judicial - jud law Latin having to do with judges or courts of law; judiciary - a system of courts of law. conjunction - a word that joins parts of sentences; junct join Latin disjunction - a disconnection; junction - a place where two things join. juvenile - youthful or childish; rejuvenate - to juven young Latin bring back to youthful strength or appearance. kilobyte - 1,000 bytes; kilometer - 1,000 meter; kilo thousand Greek kilograms - 1,000 grams. kinetics - study of the force of motion; kine/t motion, psychokinesis or telekinesis - the ability to move Greek /mat division objects with your mind; cinematography - motion picture making. Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions collaborate - to work with a person; elaborate - to lab work Latin work out the details; laborious - requiring a lot of hard work. lactate - to give milk, nurse; lactose - the sugar lact/o milk Latin contained in milk; lactic acid. bilateral - of or involving two sides; unilateral - later side Latin affecting one side of something. leukemia - abnormal increase of white blood cells leuk/o, white, colorless Greek in the blood; leukocyte - a mature white blood leuc/o cell; leucine - a white, crystalline amino acid. lexicology - the study and history of words; alexia word, law, lex Greek -loss of the ability to read; illegal - not authorized reading by the official rules or laws. liberate - to set free; libertine - a person with a liber free Latin free, wild lifestyle; liberty - freedom. linguist - one who studies languages; multilingual language, lingu Latin - able to communicate in multiple languages; tongue linguine - long, flat "tongue-shaped" pasta. liposuction - the mechanical removal of fat lip/o fat Greek reserves in the tissue; lipase - enzyme that breaks down fat; lipoid - resembling fat. apatite - a group of common minerals; granite - a lite, ite, mineral, rock, Greek hard, granular rock; monolith - a remarkable, lith/o fossil unique stone. dislocate - to put something out of its usual place; loc place Latin location - a place; relocate - to move to a new place. logic - correct reasoning; monologue - a long word, doctrine, log/o Greek speech by one speaker;analogy - similarity, discourse especially between things otherwise dissimilar. eloquent - speaking beautifully and forcefully ; loqu, locu speak Latin loquacious - very talkative; elocution - art of public speaking. elucidate - to explain, to throw light on; lucid - luc light Latin easily understood, giving off light; translucent - allowing light through. prelude - introduction to the major performance; lud, lus to play Latin illusion - misleading optical image or impression; delude - to mislead, deceive. illuminate - to fill with light; lumen - unit lumin light Latin measuring light. Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions lunar - relating to the moon; lunarscape - the lun/a/i moon Latin surface of the moon; lunatic - insane (as if driven mad by the moon). macroevolution - large scale evolution; macromolecule - a large molecule; macro large, great Greek macroeconomics - study of the overall forces of economy. magnify - make larger; magnificent - grand; magn/a/i great, large Latin magnate - a powerful person, especially in business or industry. malcontent - wrong content; malaria - "bad air", infectious disease thought to originate from the mal/e bad, ill, wrong Latin "bad air" of the swamps, but caused by the bite of an infected mosquito; malicious - showing strong ill will. maneuver - to move by hand; manual - done with man/i/u hand Latin the hands; manuscript - a book written by hand. command - an order or instruction; demand - a mand to order Latin hard-to-ignore order; mandate - an official order. madness, bibliomania - a crazy love of books; egomania - a mania insanity, Greek mad love of oneself; maniac an insane person. excessive desire marina - a harbor for pleasure boats; maritime - mar/i sea Latin relating to the sea; submarine - an undersea boat; aquamarine - color of sea water. maternal - relating to motherhood; maternity - the mater, mother Latin state of being a mother; matriarch - a woman head matr/i of a household. maximal - the best or greatest possible; maximize max greatest Latin - to make as great as possible; maximum - the greatest amount. medieval - pertaining to the Middle Ages; medium medi middle Latin - in the middle; mediocre - only of medium (inferior) quality. megalopolis - an area with many nearby cities; great, large, mega Greek megaphone - a device that projects a loud voice; million megastructure - huge building or other structure. melancholy - a state of dark emotions; melanoma - melan/o black Greek malignant dark tumor of the skin; melodrama - a dark, pathetic drama. Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions commemorate - to honor the memory of, as by a ceremony; memorial - related to remembering a memor/i remember Latin person or event; memory: an ability to retain knowledge or an individual's stock of retained knowledge. immerge or immerse - to put or dip something into merge, dip, dive Latin a liquid; submerge to dip something completely mers into wate.r Mesoamerica - Middle America; meson - Latin meso middle elementary particle with a mass between an Greek electron and a proton. metaphysics - study of nature and reality; change, after, metamorphosis - a complete change of form; meta beyond, Greek metastasis - the transmission of disease to other between parts of the body. audiometer- an instrument that measures hearing meter, measure Greek acuteness; chronometer- an instrument that metr/y measures time; metric - measured. microbe - a very small living thing; microchip - a very small, micro Greek tiny wafer with an integrated circuit; microscope - short, minute a device to see very small things. midriff - the area between the chest and the waist; Latin mid middle midterm - middle of a term in school; midway - Greek halfway between. immigrant - a person who moves to a new country migr move Latin to settle; migrant - person who moves from place to place; migration - the process of moving. millimeter - one thousandth of a meter; millibar - milli onethousandth Latin one thousandth of a bar; milliliter - one thousandth of a liter. mini - something that is very small; minuscule - min/i small, less Latin extremely tiny; minutiae - very small or trivial details. bad, badly, misbehave - to behave badly; misprint - an error in wrong, mis/o Greek printing; misnomer - an error in naming a person wrongly, or thing. to hate dismiss - to send someone away; missile - a miss, mit send, let go Latin weapon sent into the air; emit - to send something out; admittance - entry. Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions immobilize - to stop from moving; mobile - able mob move Latin to move freely; mobility - the quality of being able to move. monochromat - having one color; monologue - a one, single, mon/o Greek speech spoken by one person; monotheism - belief alone in one god. motion - the act of moving; motivate - to move someone to action; promote to move someone mot, mov move Latin forward; removable - able to be taken or carried away. metamorphosis - complete change of form; endorphins - chemical in the brain able to morph/o form Greek transform pain; amorphous - without distinct shape or form. immortal - living forever, unable to die; mortal - mort death Latin certain to die; mortician - an undertaker. multicolored - having many colors; multimedia - many, more multi Latin using a range of media; multitasking - doing many than one or two things at once. immutable - not changing; mutant - an organism mut change Latin that has undergone change; mutate - to undergo a change. myocardium - the middle muscle of the heart; my/o muscle Latin myasthenia - muscle fatigue or weakness; myosin - common protein in muscle tissue. narrate - to tell a story; narrative - a story; narrator narr tell Latin - a person who tells a story. innate - included since birth; natal - relating to nat born Latin birth; natural - gotten at birth, not afterward. circumnavigate - to sail around a place; naval - nav ship Latin relating to a navy or warships; navigate - to sail a ship through a place. necrophil - loving death; necrosis - the death of necr/o dead, death Greek tissue due to disease or injury; necrology - a list of persons who have recently died. negate - to say it didn't happen; negative - neg no Latin meaning "no"; renege - to go back on a promise. neoclassic - a revival of classic form, neo new, recent neocolonialism - the indirect ("new") economical and political control of a region by a more Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions powerful foreign power; neonatal - a newborn child, especially the first few weeks. nephritis - inflammation of the kidneys; nephr/o kidney Greek nephrotomy - surgical incision of a kidney; nephron - a single, excretory unit in the kidney. neuralgia - pain along a nerve; neurologist - doctor specializing in the nerves; neurotic - mental neur/o nerve Greek disorder that usually does not include an impaired perception of reality. misnomer - an error in naming a person or thing; nominal - being something in name only but not in nom/in name Latin reality; nominate - to name for election or appointment, to designate. nondescript - with no special characteristics; non no, not, without Latin nonfiction - true, real, not made-up; nonsense - without sense. notable - marked as worthy of attention; notarize - not mark Latin to certify a signature on a legal document; annotate - to add remarks. announce - to declare in public; denounce - to noun, declare Latin proclaim harsh criticism; enunciate - to speak or nunc declare something clearly. innovate - to introduce a new way; novelty - nov new Latin something new; novice - a person who is new at a job; renovate - to make something like new again. enumerate - to name a number of items on a list; numer number Latin numerology - the study of magical uses of numbers; numerous - a large number. object - to be against something; obscure - hard to in the way, ob, op Latin understand; opposition - the act of resistance or against action against. octagon - a figure with 8 sides and 8 angles; oct/a/o eight Greek octogenarian - person in his or her 80s; octopus - sea animal with 8 arms. binoculars - lens device for seeing distances; ocu eye Latin monocula - relating to one eye; oculist - an eye doctor. diode - an electron tube having two electrodes, a od path, way Greek cathode and an anode; odometer - an instrument attached to a vehicle to measure the distance Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions traversed; triode - an electron tube with an anode, a cathode, and a control grid deodorant - a substance that helps prevent body odor; malodorous - having a terribly bad odor smell, scent Latin smell; odoriferous- something that bears or diffuses a scent omnipotent - with all the power; omniscient - omni all Latin knowing all things; omnivorous eating all foods. optic - relating to the eyes; optician - a person who eye, visual op/t/s Greek fits eyeglasses; autopsy - the examination of a condition, sight dead body. optimal - the best, the most desirable; optimize - opt best Latin to make the best of; optimum - the best something could be. orthodontist - a dentist that straightens teeth; orthopedic - a doctor concerned with the proper ortho straight Greek alignment of the bones; orthography - the correct way of writing. osteoarthritis - inflammation caused by degeneration of the joints; osteopathy - therapy osteo bone Greek that uses among others manipulation of the skeleton to restore health; osteology - the study of bones. goes beyond, Outgoing - being of lively, sharing nature; out surpasses, outdoing - doing better than; outdoor - outside. exceeds overconfident - more confident than is appropriate; overstock - more supplies than is over excessive English desirable; overexcited - ,more excited than one should be. oxymoron - combining two ideas that sharply oxi/oxy sharp Greek contradict each other; oxidize - corrode a surface. paleontology - study of ancient fossils; pale/o ancient Greek paleography - the study of ancient forms of writing; Paleolithic - period of the Stone Age. panacea - a cure for all diseases or problems; all, any, pan Greek panorama - an all-around view; pantheism - the everyone worship of all gods; pandemic - affecting all. beside, beyond, parasite - an organism that lives on and off para abnormal, Greek another living being; parallel - alongside and assistant always an equal distance apart; paragraph - a Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions portion of a writtenn document that presents a distinct idea. parachute - protection from falling; parasol - an para protection from umbrella used to protect from the sun; pater, Latin paternal - relating to fathers; paternity - father patr/i Greek fatherhood; patriarch - a man who rules a group. antipathy - a feeling of great dislike; apathy - a feeling, path lack of feeling or interest; empathy - ability to emotion understand another's feelings. pedal - a lever pushed by the foot; pedestrian - one ped/i/e foot, feet Latin who walks; pedicure - cosmetic treatment of feet and toes. compel - to force someone to act; expel - to drive pel drive, force Latin someone out of a place; repel - to force back. pentagon - shape having 5 angles and 5 sides, pentagram - a five-pointed star formerly used as a pent/a five Greek symbolic figure in magic; pentathlon - an athletic contest that includes five events. pept, dyspepsia - abnormal digestion; peptic - aiding digestion Greek peps digestion; pepsin - a digestive enzyme. permanent - lasting throughout all time; permeate through, per Latin - to spread throughout; persist - to continue for a throughout long time; perennial - lasting through many years. periodontal - pertaining to bone and tissue around around, peri Greek a tooth; peripheral - lying outside of the center; enclosing perimeter - the outer boundary of an area. esophagus - muscular tube that carries food to the phag/e to eat Greek stomach; anthropophagy or sarcophagy - cannibalism; xylophagous - feeding on wood. philanthropist - one who loves humanity; phil/o love, friend Greek philology - the love of words; philosophy - the love of wisdom; bibliophil - loving books. cacophony - loud, unpleasant sounds; microphone phon/o sound Greek - a device that records and amplifies sound; /e/y phonetic - relating to human speech sounds. photogenic - caused by light; photograph - image phot/o light Greek made on light-sensitive film; photon - the smallest possible unit of light. chlorophyll - a group of green pigments found in phyll/o leaf Greek leaves; phyllotaxis - the arrangement of leaves on Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions a stem; phyllite - a rock that forms sheets, similar to slate. nature, physical - relating to the body; physician - a phys medicine, the Greek doctor; physique - nature and shape of one's body. body epiphyte - a plant growing independently on the surface of another; hydrophyte - a plant that grows phyt/o/e plant, to grow Greek only in water; neophyte - a beginner, especially a person recently converted to a new belief. protoplasm - something that is the first made or to form, formed, also the living portion of a cell; plastic - plas/t/m development, Greek able to be formed, especially when warm; plaster - forming cells a mixture of lime, sand and water that forms a smooth solid covering for walls. applaud- to show approval of especially by plaud, plod, clapping the hands; explosion- an act of exposing approve, clap Latin plaus, plos something as invalid or baseless; plausible- worthy of being applauded pneumonia - inflammation of the lungs; pneumatic breathing, lung, pneum/o Greek - using the force of air; dyspnea - difficulty air, spirit breathing. podiatrist - a doctor for the feet; podium - a small pod/e foot Greek platform to stand on; tripod - a stand or frame with 3 legs. metropolis - a large city; police - people who work for the government to maintain order in a city; poli city Greek politics - actions of a government or political party. polychrome - with many colors; polyglot - a many, more poly Greek person fluent in many languages; polygon - shape than one with 3 or more straight sides. opponent - a person who places him/herself pon place, put Latin against an action, idea, etc.; postpone - to put off doing something. popular - appealing to a lot of people; population - pop people Latin all of the people who live in a particular area; populist - a supporter of the rights of people. export - to carry goods out of a place to another; port carry Latin portable - able to be carried; porter - a person who carries luggage. Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions deposit - to place or drop something; expose to pos place, put Latin place out into the open for all to see; position - the place where someone is. posthumous - after someone's death; postpone - to post after, behind Latin delay something; postscript - an addition to an already completed document. preamble - a part in front of a formal document; earlier, before, pre Latin prepare - to get ready in advance; prediction - a in front of statement foretelling the future. before, in front prognosis - a prediction of what will happen; Greek pro of, prologue - a passage before the main part; prophet Latin for, forward - a person who foretells the future. prototype - the first of a kind; proton - on of the primitive, first, prot/o Greek very basic parts of an atom; protocol - a first draft chief from which a document is prepared. pseudonym - a fictitious name; pseudoscience - pseud/o wrong,false Greek theories presumed without proof of a scientific nature; pseudopregnancy - a false pregnancy. psyche - the human spirit or soul; psychic - relating to the human mind or someone who has psych/o mind, mental Greek supernatural mental abilities; psychology - the study of the mind. pugnacious - having a quarrelsome or aggressive pugn/a, to fight Latin nature; repugnant - distasteful, offensive or pung revolting; pungent - piercing. compulsion - a very strong urge; expulsion - to pul urge someone out; impulsive - having a spontaneous urge to do something. purge - remove anything undesirable; purgatory - according to Roman Catholics a place where souls purg clean Latin must clean themselves of sin; expurgate - remove objectionable passages from a publication. computer - an electronic thinking device; dispute - put think Latin to disagree with what another person thinks; input - contribution of one's thinking. pyrotechnics - the art of making fireworks; pyrometer - a thermometer for measuring high pyr/o fire, heat Greek temperature; pyretic - relating to or producing fever. Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions quadrant - open space with buildings on 4 sides; quad/r/ri four Latin quadrennium - period of 4 years; quadruped - a 4- footed animal. quarter - one fourth; quart - a fourth of a gallon; quart fourth Latin quartet - a musical composition or group involving 4 voices or instruments. quintett - a composition for 5 voices or instruments; quintessence - pure essence, based on quin/t five, fifth Latin the ancient philosophy that there was a fifth element that was present in all things; quintuple - fivefold. eradicate - pull out at the roots; radical - radic, fundamental, looking at things from a drastic point root Latin radix of view; radish - an edible root of the mustard family. radioactive - emitting radiation; radiologist - radio radiation, ray someone diagnosing or treating via radiation. ramification - the resulting consequence of a ram/i branch Latin decision; ramify - to spread or branch out; ramus - a branchlike part. rebound -to spring back again; rewind - to wind again, back, something backward; reaction: a response; re Latin backward recognize: to identify someone or something seen before. regent - a person who rules on behalf of a king or reg guide, rule Latin queen; regime - a government that rules; regulate - to apply a rule. retroactive - relating to something in the past; retro backward, back Latin retrogress - to go back to an earlier condition; retrospect - the remembering of past events. rhinoceros - a species of animals with a big horn on the snout; rhinoplasty - surgery of the nose; rhin/o nose Greek rhinovirus - viruses that are causing the common cold. rhododendron - a flower with red/pink flowers; rhodium - an element which produces a red rhod/o red Greek solution; rhodopsin - a purple pigment in the retina that is needed for vision. deride - to make fun of someone; ridicule - to rid laugh Latin make fun or mock; ridiculous - silly, causing laughter. Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions diarrhea - abnormally excessive bowl movement; rrh/ea Latin hemorrhage - heavy blood flow; catarrh - flow, discharge /oea/ag Greek inflammation of a mucous membrane, especially the nose and throat. ruby - deep red color and a precious stone of the rub red Latin same color; rubella - measles; bilirubin - reddish pigment in bile. bankrupt - unable to pay because you're "broke"; rupt break, burst Latin interrupt - to break into a conversation or event, to disturb; rupture - a break in something. sane - mentally healthy; sanitary - relating to san health Latin cleanliness and health; sanitation - maintenance of public health and cleanliness. ascend - to climb upward; crescendo - a climbing scend climb, go Latin up of the volume of music; descend - to go or climb down. conscience - sense of knowing right from wrong; sci know Latin conscious - knowing what is happening; omniscient - knowing everything. arteriosclerosis - hardening of the arterial walls; multiple sclerosis - disease which causes the tissue scler/o hard Greek of the brain and spinal cord to harden; sclerometer - instrument for measuring hardness. microscope - a device used to see tiny things; see, examine, scop/e/y Greek periscope - a seeing instrument on a submarine; observe telescope - a device used to see over a distance. inscribe - to write letters or words on a surface; scrib, write, written Latin scribe - a person who writes out documents; script describe - to represent with words or pictures. secede - to formally break away from; seclude - to se apart Latin keep away from; serum - a liquid isolated out of another. dissect - to cut apart piece by piece; intersection - sect cut Latin the place or point where two things cross each other; bisect - to cut into two equal parts. reside- be stationed; sediment- the matter that sed, sid, sit Latin settles to the bottom of a liquid; session- an actual sess or constructive sitting of a body self-discipline - the ability to discipline yourself; of, for, or by self self-respect - respect for yourself; selfish itself concerned only with your own interests. Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions semiannual - every half year; semicircle - half a semi half, partial Latin circle; semiconscious - partly conscious; semiannual - every half of a year. September - this used to be the seventh month in the Roman calendar; septet - a group of seven sept/i seven Latin musicians; septuagenarian - a person in his/her seventies. conserve - to save or keep something safe; serv save, keep Latin preserve - to save something; reservation - a place kept for a person. sextet or sextette - a composition or group of six, sex six Latin sextuple - sixfold; sexagenarian - person in his/her sixties. desolate - lonely, dismal, gloomy; solitary - done sol alone Latin alone, by yourself; solo - a performance done by one person alone. solar - involving the sun; parasol - umbrella sol sun Latin protecting from the sun; solarium - a room where one is exposed to sun light. insomnia - inability to fall asleep; somniloquy - somn/I sleep Latin talking in your sleep; somnolent - feeling sleepy. consonant - a speech sound; sonorous - producing son sound Latin loud, full, rich sounds; supersonic - faster than sound; unison - as one voice. philosopher - a wise person; sophisticated - wise soph wise Greek about the ways of the world; sophism - a clever but misleading argument. circumspect - cautious, looking all around; spec/t, see, look Latin retrospective - a looking back at past things; spic spectator - a person who sees an event. biosphere - the whole round surface of the earth; sphere ball Greek hemisphere - half the earth spherically shaped like a ball. inspire - to stimulate or animate; transpire - to spir breathe Latin give of vapor with waste product through the skin or a membrane; spirit - invisible life force. stable - standing steady and firm; stagnant - sta stand Latin standing still, not moving; stationary - at a standstill, fixed. Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions constellation - a group of stars that forms a stell star Latin pattern; interstellar - between the stars; stellar - relating to stars. construct - to build; destruction - the act of destroying something that was built; structure - struct build Latin something built; infrastructure - underlying framework of a system. under, lower submarine - an underwater boat; submerge - to put sub than, Latin underwater; substandard - inferior to accepted inferior to standards. sum - the combined total of everything; sum highest Latin summation - the total, highest amount; summit the highest point or top. higher in Super bowl - the final annual football game; super quality Latin superior - above average, better in quality; or quantity supersonic - faster than the speed of sound. symmetry -similarity in size, form or arrangement; sy/m together, with, Greek synergy - the combined effect; synchronize - to /n/l/s same cause to occur at the same time. contact - a state in which two things touch; tactile tact, tang touch Latin - relating to the sense of touch; tangible - able to be touched; intact - with nothing missing. syntax - the systematic arrangement of words; tax/o arrangement Greek taxonomy - the science of classification; ataxia - loss of the ability to coordinate muscle action. technology - the practical application of techno technique, skill Greek knowledge; technocracy - rule of technology; technologically - characterized by technology. telephone - a device to talk to a distant person; telescope - a device to view distant objects; far, distant, tel/e/o Greek television - a device to receive pictures from afar; complete telecommuting - working remotely, bridging the distance via virtual devices. contemporary- existing at the same time; temporal temp/or time Latin - relating to time; temporary - lasting for a limited time. continent- serving to restrain or limit; detention- the act or fact of detaining, ten, tin, tent hold Latin tenacious- having parts or elements strongly adhering to each other Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions attrition- the act of rubbing together or wearing down; detritus- a product of disintegration or ter, trit rub Latin wearing away; trite- used or occurring so often as to have lost interest, freshness, or force determine - to find something out at the end of an term/ina end, limit Latin investigation; terminate - to end; exterminate - to destroy or get rid of completely. extraterrestrial - existing outside the earth; terrain terr/a/i land, earth Latin - ground or land; territory - an area of land. tetrapod - having 4 legs; tetrarchy - government tetra four Latin by 4 rulers; tetrose - a monosaccharide with four carbon atoms. bibliotheca- a list or catalog of books; theme- a proposition for discussion or argument; thesis- a the put Greek dissertation embodying results of original research and especially substantiating a specific view monotheism - belief in one god; polytheism - the/o god Greek worshiping more than one god; theology - the study of religion, god, etc. thermal - relating to heat; thermos - an insulated therm/o heat Greek jar that keeps heat in; thermostat - a device that controls heat. contortion - a twisted shape or position; distort - to alter the shape or condition of; retort - reply in a tort twist Latin manner that is supposed to change the effect of something previously said. detoxification - the process of removing poisons; tox poison Latin toxic - poisonous; toxicology - the study of poisons; intoxicated - influenced by drugs. attract - to pull objects nearer; distract - to drag tract pull, drag Latin attention away from something; tractor - a motor vehicle that pulls things. transcontinental - across the continent; transfer - across,beyond, trans Latin to move from one place to another; transport - to through carry something across a space. three, once in triangle - a figure with 3 sides and 3 angles; Greek tri every three, triathlon - an athletic contest with 3 events; Latin third tricycle - a 3-wheeI vehicle with pedals. beyond, ultrahigh - extremely high; ultramodern - more ultra extreme, more Latin modern than anything else; ultrasonic - sound than waves beyond human hearing. Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions not,opposite of, unabridged - not shortened; unfair - opposite of un Latin lacking fair; unfriendly - lacking friendliness. unicycle - a vehicle with one wheel; unilateral - uni one, single Latin decided by only one person or nation; unique - the only one of its kind; unison - as one voice. suburb - residential area on the edge of a city; urb city Latin urban - relating to a city; urbanology - the study of city life. evacuate - to empty a dangerous place; vacant - vac empty Latin empty, not occupied; vacation - a time without work. circumvent - to go around or bypass restrictions; convention - a gathering or assembly of people ven/t come Latin with a common interest; intervene - to come between. veracious - truthful, honest; veracity - the truth; ver/I truth Latin verify - to make sure that something is true. verbalize - to put into words; adverb - a word verb word Latin relating to a verb; proverb - a short saying that expresses a well-known truth. reverse - to turn around; introvert - being turned vers, towards the inside; version - a variation of an turn Latin vert original; controversy - a conversation in which positions are turned against each other. acting in place vice-president - the person next in rank to the vice of, Latin president next in rank vid see Latin evident clearly seen convince - to win someone over; invincible - not vince, conquer Latin able to be conquered; victory - the conquest of an vic enemy. vision - the ability to see; envision - to picture in vis, vid see Latin the mind; evident - clearly visible. revival - the act of bringing back to life; vital - viv/i live, life Latin pertaining to live; vivacious - high-spirited and vit full of life. advocate - to speak in favor of; equivocate - to use misleading language that could be interpreted two voc/i voice, call Latin different ways; vocalize - to produce with your voice. Link Root word Meanings Origin Examples and Definitions benevolent - showing good will and kindness; vol/i/u wish, will Latin volition - the act of making a choice or decision, voluntary - resulting from your own free will. carnivorous - meat-eating; voracious - desiring or vor, eat Latin eating food in great quantities; devour - to eat vour quickly. xanthium- a genus of coarse and rough or spiny xanth yellow Latin herbs; xanthochromia- yellowish discoloration (as of the skin or cerebrospinal fluid); xanthogenic xenophobic - afraid of foreigners; xenogenesis - the creation of offspring that is completely xen/o foreign Greek different from either parent; xenophile - attracted to foreigners. xerophyte - a plant that grows in dry climate; xer/o/I dry Greek xerography - a dry photocopying process; xeric - requiring small amounts of moisture. xylocarp; xyloid- resembling wood; xylophone-an xyl wood Greek organ percussion stop of similar tone quality zoology - study of animals; zooid - resembling an zo/o animal life Greek animal; zooplankton - minute floating aquatic animals. zygote - a cell formed by the union of two gametes and the organism developing from that; zyg/o pair Greek zygomorphic - pertaining to organisms that can be divided into symmetrical halves along one axis only.