Using Greek and Latin Roots to Understand Words

Using Greek and Latin Roots to Understand Words If you recognize the Greek and Latin prefixes and affixes, youll understand the words as a whole. As someone trained in foreign languages and theoretical linguistics, I completely agree with the experts quoted in  Why your kids should learn Latin. I would add that the study of Ancient Greek stems and affixes is equally valuable. As a follow-up to this article, I would suggest that you compile a short course on the meanings of Greek and Latin stems and affixes, focusing upon their value as reading aids in English and the Romance languages. The content of this article is based on  Scientific Terminology  by expert John Hough. Rather than an introduction to linguistics, it is meant to be an introduction to Classical stems and affixes. Why Study Terminology   How knowing the etymology of  rhinoceros  will help you understand your doctors diagnoses: Sometime during the 14th century someone decided to give this mammal its present day name. The characteristic of the animal that struck them the most was the large horn that grew from its nose. The Greek word for nose is rhis, and the combining form (the form that is used when it is combined with other word elements) is rhin-. The Greek word for horn is keras. So this animal was named a nose-horn animal or a rhinoceros [...] You take a peek in your file and discover that [... the doctor] wrote acute rhinitis as your diagnosis. Now having taken this course, you know that acute just means sudden onset [...] and you know that -itis simply means an inflammation. Root Suffix Word The suffix on  please  is an  e. If you look at the word  pleas-ure, it makes sense, since removing its suffix leaves the same root as in  pleas-e. As John Hough, in  Scientific Terminology,  points out, roots rarely exist alone. They usually precede suffixes. The same is true of Greek and Latin, even if, when borrowing, we sometimes drop the suffix. Thus, the word  cell  in English is really the Latin cella, from which weve dropped the a  suffix. Not only do almost all English words contain roots plus suffixes, but, according to Hough, suffixes cant stand alone. A suffix does not have meaning on its own but needs to be connected to the root. Suffixes A suffix is an inseparable form that cannot be used alone but that carries an indication of quality, action, or relation. When added to a combining form, it makes a complete word and will determine whether the word is a noun, adjective, verb, or adverb. Compound Words A suffix combined with a root is different from a compound word which, in loose English usage, is usually thought of as just another case of root suffix. Sometimes two Greek or Latin words are put together to form a compound word. Often we think of these words as suffixes when they arent, technically, although they may be thought of as  end forms. End Forms The following is a chart of some common Greek end forms. An example is the word  neurology  (study of the nervous system) which comes from the Greek  neuro-  the combining form of the noun  neuron  (nerve) plus  -logy, listed below. We think of these end forms as merely suffixes, but they are fully productive words. A quick example in English: Backpack and ratpack contain what looks like a suffix (pack), but, as we know, pack is a noun and verb on its own. Greek Word Ending Meaning ÃŽ ±ÃŽ »ÃŽ ³ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€š -algia -pain ÃŽ ²ÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€š -be life ÃŽ ºÃŽ ·ÃŽ »ÃŽ · -cele tumor Ï„Î ¿ÃŽ ¼ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€š -ectomy cut ÃŽ ±ÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ¼ÃŽ ± -(a)emia blood ÃŽ »ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ³ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€š -logy study ÃŽ µÃŽ ¹ÃŽ ´ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€š -oid form πΠ¿ÃŽ »ÃŽ µÃâ€° -poesis make ÏÆ'ÃŽ ºÃŽ ¿Ãâ‚¬ÃŽ µÃâ€° -scope see into ÏÆ'Ï„Î ¿ÃŽ ¼ÃŽ ± -stomy mouth (Note: breathing marks are missing. These forms and the other tables are excerpted from Houghs book but have been modified based on corrections submitted by readers.) And from the Latin, we have: Latin Word Ending Meaning fugere -fuge flee Root Suffix/Prefix Word Prefixes are usually adverbs or prepositions derived from Greek or Latin that  cant be used alone  in English and appear at the beginnings of words. Suffixes, which appear at the ends of words, arent usually adverbs or prepositions, but they cant be used alone in English, either. While suffixes are often joined to the end of roots by separate connecting vowels, the transformation of these prepositional and adverbial prefixes is more direct, even though the final letter of the prefix may be changed or eliminated. In 2-letter prefixes, this can be confusing. Among other changes,  n  can become  m  or  s  and a final b or d may be changed to match the first letter of the root. Think of this confusion as designed to ease pronunciation. This list wont help you figure out  antipasto, but it will prevent you from describing the antonym of  precedent  as  antident  or  polydent. Note: Greek forms are capitalized, Latin in normal case. Latin Prefix/ GREEK PREFIX Meaning A-, AN- "alpha privative", a negative ab- away from ad- to, towards, near ambi- both ANA- up, back again, throughout, against ante- before, in front of ANTI- against APO- away from bi-/bis- twice, double CATA- down, across, under circum- around con- with contra- against de- down, from, away from DI- two, twice, double DIA- through dis- apart, removed DYS- hard, difficult, bad e-, ex- (Lat.)EC- EX- (GK.) out of ECTO- outside EXO- outside, outward EN- in endo- within epi- on, upon extra- outside, beyond, in addition to EU- well, good, easy HEMI- half HYPER- over, above, HYPO- below, under in- in, into, onYou often see this prefix as im.Used with verbal roots. in- not; occasionally, beyond belief infra- below inter- between intro- within intus- within META- with, after, beyond non- not OPISTHO- behind PALIN- again PARA- along side of, beside per- through, thorough, complete PERI- around, near post- after, behind pre- in front of, before PRO- before, in front of PROSO- onwards, in front re- back, again retro- backward semi- half sub- under, below super-, supra- above, upper SYN- with trans- across ultra- beyond Adjective Root Suffix Word The following tables contain Greek and Latin adjectives in the form used to combine with English words or with other Latin or Greek parts to make English words- like megalomaniac or macroeconomics, to take examples from the top of the table. GREEK Latin Meaning in English MEGA-, MEGALO-, MAKRO-; magni-, grandi- big MICRO-; parvi- little MACRO-, DOLICHO; longi- long BRACHY-; brevi- short EURY, PLATY-; lati- wide STENO-; angusti- narrow CYCLO-, GYRO; circuli- round quadrati- rectanguli- square PACHY-, PYCNO-, STEATO-; crassi- thick LEPTO-; tenui- thin BARY-; gravi- heavy SCLERO-, SCIRRHO-; duri- hard MALACO-; molli- soft HYGRO-, HYDRO-; humidi- wet XERO-; sicci- dry (Xerox ®) OXY-; acri- sharp CRYO- PSYCHRO-; frigidi- cold THERMO-; calidi- hot DEXIO-; dextri- right SCAIO-; scaevo- levi, sinistri- left PROSO-, PROTO-; frontali- front MESO-; medio- middle POLY-; MULTI- many OLIGO-; pauci- few STHENO-; validi-, potenti- strong HYPO-; imi-, intimi- bottom PALEO-, ARCHEO-; veteri-, seni- old NEO-, CENO-; novi new CRYPTO-, CALYPTO-; operti- hidden TAUTO-; identi- same HOMO-, HOMEO-; simili- alike EU-, KALO-, KALLO-; boni- good DYS-, CACO-; mali- bad CENO-, COELO-; vacuo- empty HOLO-; toti- entirely IDIO-; proprio-, sui- one's own ALLO-; alieni- another's GLYCO-; dulci- sweet PICRO-; amari- bitter ISO-; equi- equal HETERO-, ALLO-; vario- different Colors A medical example of a Greek-based color word is erythrokinetics (e ·ryth ·ro ·ki ·net ·ics), defined as A study of the kinetics of red blood cells from their generation to destruction. GREEK Latin Meaning in English COCCINO-, ERYTHTO-, RHODO-, EO-; purpureo-, rubri-, rufi-, rutuli-, rossi-, roseo-, flammeo- Reds of various shades CHRYSO-, CIRRHO-; aureo-, flavo-, fulvi- orange XANTHO-, OCHREO-; fusci-, luteo- yellow CHLORO-; prasini-, viridi- green CYANO-, IODO-; ceruleo-, violaceo- blue PORPHYRO-; puniceo-, purpureo- violet LEUKO-; albo-, argenti- white POLIO-, GLAUCO-, AMAURO-; cani-, cinereo-, atri- gray MELANO-; nigri- black Numerals Here are more combining forms that are important to know since they are numbers. If youve ever had trouble remembering whether millimeter or kilometer was closer to an inch, pay attention here. Note that the milli- is Latin and the kilo- is Greek; the Latin is the smaller unit, and the Greek the larger, so millimeter is a 1000th part of a meter (.0363 of an inch) and the kilometer is 1000 meters (39370 inches). Some of these numerals are derived from adverbs, most from adjectives. GREEK Latin Meaning in English SEMI-; hemi- 1/2 HEN- ; uni- 1 sesqui- 1-1/2 DYO (DI-, DIS-) ; duo- (bi-, bis-) 2 TRI-; tri- 3 TETRA-, TESSARO- ;quadri- 4 PENTA-;quinque 5 HEX, HEXA-;sex- 6 HEPTA-;septem- 7 OCTO-;octo- 8 ENNEA-;novem- 9 DECA-;decem- 10 DODECA-; duodecim 12 HECATONTA-;centi- 100 CHILIO-;milli- 1000 MYRI-, MYRIAD-; any large or countless number Source John Hough,  Scientific Terminology; New York: Rhinehart Company, Inc. 1953.