24
26
GREEK ROOTS
GREEK ROOTS
LESSON I
LESSON II
Before beginning study of the material below, turn to page 9 for specific
directions.
Root
1. anthrop
2. phil
3. miso
4. biblio, bibl
5. phon
6. graph, gram!
7. scop, scept,
Meaning
Prefix
man; mankind
1. eu-
love-
2. caco-
hate
book
sound
write; draw;
describe; record
look at; examine
3.
Meaning
mega-, megalo-"
4. micro5. macro6.
7.
tele-, tel-, teloteleo-, tel-;"
telio-, telo-
good; well
bad; ill
large
small
large; long
far; distant
end; result;
completion
Root
l.
arch, I archi
2. dem
3. gen, gon
4. gon
5. gyn," gyne,
gynaec, gynec
6. log
Meaning
rule; govern
people
kind; race; origin
angle
woman
idea; word;
speech;
discussion;
reason; study"
l.
Prefix
Meaning
archae-,!
ancient
archa­
2. hetero3.
homo4. olig5. pan-, panto6. poly-
various; unlike
same
few
all
many
skept
EXERCISE
Suffix
Meaning
1. -mania
-maniac
-maniacal, -maniac, -manic
2. -phobia
-phobiac, -phobe, -phobist
-phobic
madness for; excessive fondness for
one who has a madness for
affected with madness for
dread of; morbid fear of
one who has a morbid fear of
fearful of; dreading
EXERCISE
1. anthropophobiac
2.
3.
4.
5.
philanthropy
misanthrope
bibliomaniac
euphonious
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
cacography
megaphone
microscopic
macroscopic
telegraphy
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
bibliophile
symphony
megalomaniac
skeptical
aphonic
'In the technical terms of science, phil may mean a strong tendency toward.
'Variations such as graph, from a verb to write, and gram, from a noun something
written, are listed without distinction in meaning.
3A prefix may be pushed along to the middle of.a word, as in photosynthesis, or even to
the end. as in medical terms ending in -megaly,
'Two letters of the Greek alphabet become e in English derivatives. One of these was
in the original Prefix 6 tel, the other in the Prefix 7 tel. Their identity in the Englishspelling
may cause confusion. It is helpful to know that Prefix 6 occurs in scores of words and
Prefix 7 in comparatively few.
1. anarchy
2.
3.
4.
5.
archaeology
demography
heterogeneous
homogeneous
6. polygon
7.. gynarchy
8. oligarchy
9. epidemic
10. pandemic
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
endemic
misogynist
genealogy
diagonal
eulogy
Great leaders are great leaders because through their com­
mand of vocabulary power and culture they are able to make
others see and feel what they see and feel. Gain this power for
yourself and you will have at your service the greatest force
ever put into the hands of mankind.-JosEPH G. BRIN
'Root 1 (arch) and Prefix I (archae) are originally from the same TOot, meaning begin­
ning or first. Arch came to mean first in place or power; archae, first in time.
2The root gyn is common both in scientific and in nonscientific terms. Its opposite,
andr, ander, meaning man, male seldom appears except in the terms of science. A notable
exceptionis the word philander. In descriptions of plants gyn often means pistil and ander,
stamen.
3Suggestions on how to cope with the multiple meanings of log are on the next page.
'Derivatives of Greek roots containing the diphthong ae have two approved spellings:
archaeology, archeology .. anaesthetic, anesthetic. The "e" spelling is generally preferred in
American, the "ae" in British usage.Derivatives in theselessons may employ either spelling
to ensure quick recognition of both.
30
GREEK ROOTS
32
GREEK ROOTS
LESSON III
1.
2.
3.
4.
Root
Meaning
theo
geo
helio
god
earth
sun
power; force
time
color
dyn,' dynam
5. chron
6. chrom,
7.
8.
9.
chromat, chro
meter, metr"
center, centr
cycl
Prefix
1.
2.
3.
4.
monobidis-, diiso5. ortho-
Suffix
measure
center
circle
1.
LESSON IV
Meaning
one
two
two; twice
equal
correct; right; straight
polytheist
geology
heliolatry
isodynamic
chronometer
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
When words fail, wars begin. . . . When wars finally end, we
settle our disputes with words.-WILFRED FUNK
IDo not confuse this root with a similar one-odyn meaning pain, found especially in
medical terms as in anodyne.
2A less common metr means mother as in metropolis, metronym,
Prefix
Meaning
hemi-
half
EXERCISE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
bibliomancy
symmetry
eccentric
orthophonic
geometry
feeling; disease
depth
cure
blood
flow; gush; burst
stand; stop
work
know
haem, hem, -a em, -em 1
5. rhea, rheo, rrh, rhag
6. stat, stas
7. erg, urg
8. gno, gnos
worship
-later
worshipper
-latrous worshipping
2. -mancy
divination; prophecy
-mancer one who divines' or
prophesies
-mantic prophesying; having to
do with divination
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
path
4.
-latry
monochrome
heliocentric
bicycle
diarchy
perimeter
Meaning
2. batho, bathy
3. therap
Meaning
EXERCISE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
I.
Root
apathy
antipathy
pathology
bathometer
heliotherapy
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
hematology
anemia
hemorrhage
hemicycle
logorrhea
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
static
energy
prognosticate
hemophile
agnostic
No knowledge of a science can be properly acquired until the
terminology of that science is mastered, and this terminology
is in the main of Greek and Latin origin.-SPENCER TROTTER
In preparation for your first review (Lesson V), turn back to the general
prefixes on pages 20 and 21. The meanings of many of these will have be­
come familiar through combination with roots you have studied. Learn
now the meanings of all others. Fix each in mind with an example easily
remembered.
l"Simplified" spelling is not always helpful. The Merriam-Webster dictionary states
that the spelling haem is preferableto hem "in scientific names of botanical and zoological
groups and derivatives." Can you justify this preference?
42
40
GREEK ROOTS
GREEK ROOTS
LESSON VII
LESSON VI
Root
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
tom!
ton, ten
chir
pod
cephal
dactyl
gloss, glott,
glot
8. osteo
9. derm, dermat
10. plas, plasm,
plast
Meaning
Suffix
1. -algia, -algy
-algiac
-algie, -algetic
2. -itis
-itic
3.
thick
same
1. pachy­
2. tauto­
cut
stretch; tone
hand
foot
head
finger; toe
tongue;
language
bone
skin
mold; shape;
form; substance
-machy, -rnachia
-machist
-machic, -machical, -machal
pain
one who suffers pain
pertaining to or causing pain
inflammation
one who has inflammation;
characterized by inflammation
war; fight
one who fights
pertaining to fighting
EXERCISE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
atom
monotone
chirography
cephalopod
dactylology
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
polyglot
osteotomy
pachyderm
plastic
cephalalgia
Root
Meaning
Prefix
Meaning
Meaning
Prefix
life
nature;
growth
3. psych
mind; soul;
spirit
body
4. soma, somat
. stone
5. lith, -lite
rock
6. petr, peter
carving
7. glyph, glypt
image; idol
8. icon
star
9. astr!
arrangement;
10. nom!
law
11. onoma,onym name
house;
12. ecv oec
environment
nation
13. ethn
1. bio
2. phys
1. palco­
2. neo­
3. .hier-
Suffix
1. -clasm
-clast
2.
3.
-clastic
-lysis
-lyst
-lytic,
-lytical
-iatry,
-iatrics
-iatrist
-iatric
Meaning
ancient
new
sacred
Meaning
breakage; destruction
one who shatters or
destroys
breaking; destructive
a loosening; solution
one who solves
loosening; dissolvin g
a healing; science of
healing
one who heals
promoting healing
EXERCISE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
biography
physiology
psychiatry
psychosomatic
paleolithic
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
petrology
hieroglyphics
iconoclast
misoneism
astronomy
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
anonymous
economics
anomaly'
analysis
ethnologist
'A suffix -aster, meaning inferior, appears in a few words like criticaster; poetaster.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
dermatitis
logomachy
chiromancy
hypodermic
tautology
lFrom the prefix ec (ex) and the root tom come the many words ending in -ectomy,
denoting surgical removal, as in appendectomy.
~The
root nom has an interesting history. In most derivatives, nom means law. Origi­
nally, however, it meant to allot, to distribute; then, successively, a district (which had
been allotted); then a law governing or a custom operating in the district. Apparently, the
allotment of districts or lands became associated with that of grazing areas, and the root
took on the additional meaning, to graze.
All of these meanings survive in derivatives: in Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance,
whose duty it was to allot justice to wrongdoers; in nomarch, the ruler of a district or
province; in nomology, the science of law, and astronomy, the system of laws governing the
stars; and in nomad, one of a tribe moving from place to place to pasture their flocks. The
present application of the term nomads to persons who have no fixed home follows
naturally.
IAnomaly comes from an + homo, not from a + nom.
44
46
GREEK ROOTS
GREEK ROOTS
LESSON VIII
Root
1.
2.
crat, eras
cosm
3. polit, polis
4. crit, cris
5. top
thalass,
thalatt
7. naus, nau
8. plut
Meaning
Prefix
mix
order; world
city
separate;
discern ;
judge
place
6.
sea
ship
wealth
1.
2.
idio­
ideo-, idea­
3. auto-
Suffix
1. -cracy
-crat
-cratic
2. -poly
LESSON IX
Root
Meaning
one's own; individual
idea
self
Meaning
-pole,
rule; government
one who rules
pertaining to rule
sale; selling
one who sells
-polist
-polistic
pertaining to selling
1.
2.
Meaning
dendr, dender
phyll, phyllo '
3. phyt
4. anth
5. sperm, spermat,
spor
6. zo
7. hipp
Root
tree
leaf
plant
flower
seed; sowing
10. ichthy
11. entom
12. etym
animal
horse
13. ep
14. phag
8. drom
9. ornith
Suffix
Meaning
-oidism
-oid
-oid, ooidal
resemblance
that which resembles
like; resembling
Meaning
a running; course
bird
fish
insect
true meaning; root
meaning of word
word
eat
EXERCISE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
crater
cosmos
cosmopolitan
hypercritical
topography
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
thalassic
astronaut
plutocrat
ideogram
autocracy
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
monopoly
politics
critical
idiosyncrasy
hypocrite!
EXERCISE
1. dendrology
2. phyllophagous
3. phytogeography
4. polyanthus
5. sporadic
To be a power one must know how to use language; and how
can you place words together unless you know their deriva­
tion and their real meaning?-HENRY KRAEMEN
"Too often the word hypocrite is wrongly used and wrongly interpreted by persons una­
ware of its true meaning. The word hypocrite comes directly from a Greek word meaning
actor. A hypocrite is one who puts on an act, one who pretends to be what he is not or to
think what he does not think. He plays a part. Insincerity is the essence of hypocrisy. The
Greek word for actor came from hypo meaning under and crit meaning separate, discern,
judge. An actor must be able to discern what is below the surface in order to interpret a
part successfully, in order to convince an audience that he is another person.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
paleozoic
hippodrome
ornithology
ichthyophagous
entomology
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
etymology
orthoepy
cacoepy
anthology­
epizootic
The terms used in the scientific world are largely, and in some
sciences almost exclusively, derived from the classics.
-BERNARD VVALKER
'Caution: A root phyl, meaning tribe or class, may be mistaken for phyll meaning leaf
'The log in anthology, unlike that in most words, means collection.
I
54
56
GREEK ROOTS
GREEK ROOTS
LESSON XII
LESSON XI
Meaning
Root
gam
morph
thaum,
thaumat
4. techn
5. mim
6. crypt
7. phan,
phen
1.
2.
3.
8.
marriage
form
wonder
9.
10.
11.
art; skill
imitate
conceal
show; appear;
shine
1.
2.
3.
12.
13.
14.
Root
Meaning
trop'
troph
stroph
kIin,
clin
ag, agog"
bas, bat
baI, ball,
boI, bI
turn; respond to
feed; nourish
turn
lean; lie; incline
Prefix
Meaning
hoIo­
allo­
acro-
whole
other
top, tip, end
lead
step; go
throw
1.
2.
3.
4.
Root
Meaning
Prefix
Meaning
therm
hydr
hygr
bar
heat
water
moisture
weight;
pressure
light
fire
lower air
upper air
burn
split; cleave
way; path
pseudo-
false; counterfeit
Suffix
Meaning
phot, phos
pyr
7. aer
8. ether
9. caust, caut
10. schiz, schis
11. od!
5.
6.
-phoria, -phery
a bearing; a carrying;
production
-phor, -pher,
that which bears,
-phore, -phorus
carries, produces
-phoric, -phorous bearing; producing
EXERCISE
EXERCISE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
polygamy!
amorphous
thaumaturgy
technical
pantomime
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
holocryptic
diaphanous
heliotropism
atrophy
catastrophe
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
clinometer
demagogue
acrobat
ballistics
allonym
Add 1800 more words to your vocabulary and you can grad­
uate from the ordinary to the superior.-JoHN H. STEADMAN
-Note that the word trophy comes from this root, not from troph.
'Caution: Many words beginning with ag are from a Latin root.
'The general term polygamy includes the specific terms polygyny and polyandry. Explain.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
isotherm
hydrophobia
hygrometer
isobar
phosphorus
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
pyromaniac
aeronautics
ethereal
caustic
schism
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
exodus
pseudonym
pyrotechnical
photograph
holocaust
The custom of forming compounds from Greek elements
prevails in all civilized countries of Europe and America, and
if a useful term of this kind is introduced in anyone country,
it is adopted 'with great promptitude into the languages of all
the rest.-HENRY BRADLEY
"The words ode, parody, rhapsody, and a few others come from another od, meaning
song or poem.
58
60
GREEK ROOTS
GREEK ROOTS
LESSON XIII
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
LESSON XIV
Root
Meaning
Prefix
Meaning
aesth, esth
eth
neur
pneum, pneumat,
-pnea
opt, ops, op
ophthalm
them, the, thet,
thee, thek
thanat, thanas
necro
taph
mnem, mne, mnes
soph
feeling; perception
habit; moral
nerve
breath; wind
dys-
difficult; bad
sight; view; eye
eye
put; place
Suffix
Meaning
-orama
-orarnist
-orarnic
view
one who views
pertaining to
viewing
1.
2.
Meaning
tax, tact!
arrangement;
order
poison
belief;
opinion
child;
instruction
prize
movement
tox, toxic"
3. dox
4. paed, ped
5. athl
6.
death
dead
tomb
memory
wise
7.
Prefix
Root
kine, kino,
cinem, cinemat
poison (from
sept," seps
decay)
1. protodeutero3. tri-"
2.
4. tetra5. penta6.
hexahepta-
7.
8. octo-!
9. ennea10.
11.
Meaning
first
second
three
four
five
six
seven
eight
nine
ten
deka-, deca-,
dec-"
hecato-, hecatom-, hundred
hecaton-, heci­
12. kilo13. myriad-
thousand
ten thousand
EXERCISE
EXERCISE
1.
2.
3.
4.
anesthetic
ethical
neuralgia
pneumatic
5. thanatopsis
6.
7.
8.
9.
ophthalmoscope
hypothesis
necropolis
epitaph
10. amnesia
11. philosophical
12. dyschromatopsia
13. cyclorama
14. euthanasia
15. synopsis
A dictionary is merely the universe arranged in alphabetical
order.-ANATOLE FRANCE
A well-educated gentleman may not know many languages,
may have read very few books. But whatever language he
knows, he knows precisely; whatever word he pronounces, he
pronounces rightly; above all, he is learned in the peerage of
words; knows the words of true descent and ancient blood at
a glance from words of modern canaille; remembers all their
ancestry, their intermarriage, their distant relationships.
~RUSKIN
1.
2.
3.
4.
tactics
toxic
orthodox
pediatric
5. encyclopedia
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
pentathlon
kinetic
antiseptic
prototype
Deuteronomy
11. decade
12. kilometer
13. syntax
14. taxidermy
15. orthopedic
What is thinking? In what does it consist? Thinking, in sub­
stance, is the process of getting the meanings of things.
Threshing meanings out, refining them in the mind, is done
by means of the word, spoken and written.-DEMIASHKEVICH
IDo not confuse with a Latin root tact, meaning touch.
2The root tox, toxic originally meant bow,' then arrow .. then a poisoned arrow,' then
poison. In most derivatives tox means poison .. in a very few the original meaning is re­
tained, as in toxophilite.
'Do not confuse with a less common Latin root sept, meaning fence.
4Caution: Tri-, octo-, and dec- are Latin as well as Greek prefixes. Choose here only
words combining them with Greek roots.