Knowledge Article
Word Origins
Word parts are often related to the origin or history of a word. A word's origin is also
known as its etymology or derivation. When learning new words, remember that there
may be two or more possibilities for the root. For example, homo- means “same” in
Greek, but it also means “man” in Latin. Homonym and homogeneous employ the
Greek root homo, meaning “same.” The words homicide and Homo sapiens use the
Latin root, meaning “man.”
Another point to remember is that your dictionary will probably indicate the word's origin
in only one form of a word. That means you may need to look at a few entries to find
information about the origin of a word. For example, the history of the word explanation
may appear under explain, the root of that word.
It may not always be clear what prefix or root makes the meaning of the word. The word
contract begins with the letters contra-, a prefix meaning “against.” But using your
knowledge of the word and its context, you can probably see that this meaning does not
make sense. In this case, the actual prefix is con-, meaning “with” or "together,” and the
root is tract. Even without knowing the specific meaning of the root tract, you know
enough about the word contract to know it is something that brings people together, not
against each other.
The word parts (roots, prefixes, suffixes) below represent only some of the many word
parts that can help you decode unfamiliar words. You may recognize some of the word
parts from words you already know. The benefit of studying word parts is that you can
use them to understand new and unfamiliar words. Use a dictionary to define any of the
examples you do not know. Find additional examples of your own to use in the
submission for this lesson, and practice combining word parts to create other words.
Studying long lists in isolation is not usually the best way to learn, but if you practice
what you see here, you will find that word recognition based on roots and affixes is
extremely helpful.
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Common Roots
Root
Meaning
Examples
ancient
archetype
rule, chief, first
monarch, matriarch,
anarchy
aud
hear
audible, auditorium
bene
good, well
benefit, benefactor
brev
short
brevity, abbreviate
cede, ceed
to move, go
proceed, exceed, recede
chron
time
chronicle, chronology
derm
skin
hypodermic, epidermis,
dermatology
dic, dict
speak, word
dictionary, predict
fer
carry
transfer, refer
geo
earth
geology, geography
gen
birth, race, kind
generate, generation
graph
write
autograph, biography
hydro
water
hydrate, hydrogen
jur, just
law
jury, justice
log, logue
word, thought
dialogue, monologue
luc
light, clear
lucid, translucent
magn
giant, great, large
magnificent, magnitude
meter, metri
measure
thermometer,
speedometer
osteo
bone
osteoporosis, osteopath
path
feeling
sympathy, empathy
arch
2
phil
love
philosophy, bibliophile
phon
sound
telephone, phonics
port
carry
import, transport, portable
script, scrib
write
description, prescribe
sol
alone
solitary, solitude
spec
look, see
spectacle, spectrum
ver
truth
verify, veracity
vid, vis
see
videotape, visual
vit
life
vital, vitality
The chart below lists common prefixes. Many of these word parts, like the roots above,
are derived from Latin. They show up often in words that stretch across all subjects and
purposes.
Common Prefixes
Prefix
Meaning
Examples
ab-
away, from
absent, abstain
ambi
both
ambidextrous, ambivalent
ante-
before
antecedent, anterior
anti-
against
antifreeze,
antigovernment
auto-
self
automobile
bi-
two
bicycle, biennial
bio-
life
biology, biography
co-, com-, con-
with, together
cooperate, commiserate,
connect
dis-
opposite, away from,
apart
disable, disassemble
ex-
out of, beyond
export, exceed
3
hept-
seven
heptameter
hex-, ses-
six
hexagon, sestet
hyper-
above, over
hyperactive, hypertension,
hypersensitive
hypo-
under
hypothesis
il-, im-, in-, ir-
not
illegal, immature, invisible,
irregular
inter-
between
interstate, interaction
intra-
within
intrastate, intravenous
mal-
wrong, bad
malice, malpractice
micro-
small
microbiologist, microbe
mono-
one
monogram, monopoly
mis-
wrong
mismatch, misspell
neo-
new
neonatology, neophyte
omni-
all
omnipotent, omnipresent
pan-
all
pantheon, panorama
penta-
five
pentagon, pentameter
peri-
all around
periscope, perimeter
poly-
many
polygon, polygamy
post-
after
postpone, postdate
pre-
before
prepare, predict
pro-
before, for
procession, provide
quadr-, quatr, quart-
four
quadrangle, quartile
re-
back, again
regress, refer, repeat
sub-
under, below
subtract, submarine
super-, supr-
over, above
superior, supernatural
sym-, syn-
with, together
sympathetic, synonym
tri-, ter-
three
tricycle, tripod, tertiary
4
un-, in-, a-
not
unlikable, unproductive,
inappropriate, asocial
uni-
one
union, unit
In the suffix chart below, you'll see an additional column for part of speech. While
prefixes add meaning to or change the definition of words, suffixes are a bit different. In
most cases, suffixes change the original word's part of speech. If you have a solid
understanding of suffixes, you'll be better able to determine the part of speech of
unknown or unfamiliar words.
Common Suffixes
Suffix
Part of
Speech
Meaning
Examples
-ance,
-ence
state or quality of being
noun
governance, abstinence
-age
condition or act of
noun
courage, reportage
-al
action or result of
adjective
natural, maternal
-ate
to make, to become
associated with
verb
regulate, concentrate,
officiate
-cy
state of being
noun
lunacy, democracy
-dom
state of being
noun
freedom, kingdom
-ful
full of
adjective
meaningful, truthful
-fy
to make, to cause to
become
verb
glorify, beautify
-ible,
-able
able to; capable
adjective
audible, bearable
-ic
relating to
adjective
poetic, demonic
-ism
act, state, theory of
noun
communism, realism
-ist, -ier
one who practices; one
who believes in
noun
communist, realist, typist,
cashier, financier
-ium
the state of
noun
tedium, pandemonium
-ive
of, belonging to, quality of
adjective
descriptive, attentive,
persuasive
5
-ize
to make
verb
finalize, specialize
-ly,
having the quality of, in
the manner of
adverb,
adjective
perfectly, slowly, quickly,
friendly
-ment
state of
noun
government, contentment
-ness
quality of, state of
noun
kindness, happiness
-ology
the study of
noun
biology, zoology
-ous
having the quality of
adjective
famous, porous
-ship
characteristic of, being
noun
friendship, kinship
-tion, -ion
state of
noun
graduation, recession
-ty, -ity,
-y
the state or quality of
noun
certainty, purity
-ular
relating to
adjective
cellular, molecular
-wise
in a specified manner
adjective
clockwise,
counterclockwise
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