Latin and Greek Word Elements

English is a living language, and it is growing all the time. One way that new words come into the language is when words are borrowed from other languages. New words are also created when words or word elements, such as roots, prefixes, and suffixes, are combined in new ways.

Many English words and word elements can be traced back to Latin and Greek. Often you can guess the meaning of an unfamiliar word if you know the meaning.

A word root is a part of a word. It contains the core meaning of the word, but it cannot stand alone. A prefix is also a word part that cannot stand alone. It is placed at the beginning of a word to change its meaning. A suffix is a word part that is placed at the end of a word to change its meaning. Often you can guess the meaning of an unfamiliar word if you know the meaning of its parts; that is, the root and any prefixes or suffixes that are attached to it.

Latin Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes

Latin was the language spoken by the ancient Romans. As the Romans conquered most of Europe, the Latin language spread throughout the region. Over time, the Latin spoken in different areas developed into separate languages, including Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. These languages are considered “sisters,” as they all descended from Latin, their “mother” language.

In 1066 England was conquered by William, duke of Normandy, which is in northern France. For several hundred years after the Norman invasion, French was the language of court and polite society in England. It was during this period that many French words were borrowed into English. Linguists estimate that some 60% of our common everyday vocabulary today comes from French. Thus many Latin words came into English indirectly through French.

Many Latin words came into English directly, though, too. Monks from Rome brought religious vocabulary as well as Christianity to England beginning in the 6th century. From the Middle Ages onward many scientific, scholarly, and legal terms were borrowed from Latin.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, dictionary writers and grammarians generally felt that English was an imperfect language whereas Latin was perfect. In order to improve the language, they deliberately made up a lot of English words from Latin words. For example, fraternity, from Latin fraternitas, was thought to be better than the native English word brotherhood.

Many English words and word parts can be traced back to Latin and Greek. The following table lists some common Latin roots.

Latin root

Basic meaning

Example words

-dict-

to say

contradict, dictate, diction, edict, predict

-duc-

to lead, bring, take

deduce, produce, reduce

-gress-

to walk

digress, progress, transgress

-ject-

to throw

eject, inject, interject, project, reject, subject

-pel-

to drive

compel, dispel, impel, repel

-pend-

to hang

append, depend, impend, pendant, pendulum

-port-

to carry

comport, deport, export, import, report, support

-scrib-, -script-

to write

describe, description, prescribe, prescription, subscribe, subscription, transcribe, transcription

-tract-

to pull, drag, draw

attract, contract, detract, extract, protract, retract, traction

-vert-

to turn

convert, divert, invert, revert

From the example words in the above table, it is easy to see how roots combine with prefixes to form new words. For example, the root -tract-, meaning “to pull,” can combine with a number of prefixes, including de- and re-. Detract means literally “to pull away” (de-, “away, off”) and retract means literally “to pull back” (re-, “again, back”). The following table gives a list of Latin prefixes and their basic meanings.

Latin prefix

Basic meaning

Example words

co-

together

coauthor, coedit, coheir

de-

away, off; generally indicates reversal or removal in English

deactivate, debone, defrost, decompress, deplane

dis-

not, not any

disbelief, discomfort, discredit, disrepair, disrespect

inter-

between, among

international, interfaith, intertwine, intercellular, interject

non-

not

nonessential, nonmetallic, nonresident, nonviolence, nonskid, nonstop

post-

after

postdate, postwar, postnasal, postnatal

pre-

before

preconceive, preexist, premeditate, predispose, prepossess, prepay

re-

again; back, backward

rearrange, rebuild, recall, remake, rerun, rewrite

sub-

under

submarine, subsoil, subway, subhuman, substandard

trans-

across, beyond, through

transatlantic, transpolar

Words and word roots may also combine with suffixes. Here are examples of some important English suffixes that come from Latin:

Latin suffix

Basic meaning

Example words

-able, -ible

forms adjectives and means “capable or worthy of”

likable, flexible

-ation

forms nouns from verbs

creation, civilization, automation, speculation, information

-fy, -ify

forms verbs and means “to make or cause to become”

purify, acidify, humidify

-ment

forms nouns from verbs

entertainment, amazement, statement, banishment

-ty, -ity

forms nouns from adjectives

subtlety, certainty, cruelty, frailty, loyalty, royalty; eccentricity, electricity, peculiarity, similarity, technicality

Greek Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes

The following table lists some common Greek roots.

Greek root

Basic meaning

Example words

-anthrop-

human

misanthrope, philanthropy, anthropomorphic

-chron-

time

anachronism, chronic, chronicle, synchronize, chronometer

-dem-

people

democracy, demography, demagogue, endemic, pandemic

-morph-

form

amorphous, metamorphic, morphology

-path-

feeling, suffering

empathy, sympathy, apathy, apathetic, psychopathic

-pedo-, -ped-

child, children

pediatrician, pedagogue

-philo-, -phil-

having a strong affinity or love for

philanthropy, philharmonic, philosophy

-phon-

sound

polyphonic, cacophony, phonetics

The following table gives a list of Greek prefixes and their basic meanings.

Greek prefix

Basic meaning

Example words

a-, an-

without

achromatic, amoral, atypical, anaerobic

anti-, ant-

opposite; opposing

anticrime, antipollution, antacid

auto-

self, same

autobiography, automatic, autopilot

bio-, bi-

life, living organism

biology, biophysics, biotechnology, biopsy

geo-

Earth; geography

geography, geomagnetism, geophysics, geopolitics

hyper-

excessive, excessively

hyperactive, hypercritical, hypersensitive

micro-

small

microcosm, micronucleus, microscope

mono-

one, single, alone

monochrome, monosyllable, monoxide

neo-

new, recent

neonatal, neophyte, neoconservatism, neofascism, neodymium

pan-

all

panorama, panchromatic, pandemic, pantheism

thermo-, therm-

heat

thermal, thermometer, thermostat

Words and word roots may also combine with suffixes. Here are examples of some important English suffixes that come from Greek:

Greek suffix

Basic meaning

Example words

-ism

forms nouns and means “the act, state, or theory of”

criticism, optimism, capitalism

-ist

forms agent nouns from verbs ending in -ize or nouns ending in -ism and is used like -er

conformist, copyist, cyclist

-ize

forms verbs from nouns and adjectives

formalize, jeopardize, legalize, modernize, emphasize, hospitalize, industrialize, computerize

-gram

something written or drawn, a record

cardiogram, telegram

-graph

something written or drawn; an instrument for writing, drawing, or recording

monograph, phonograph, seismograph

-logue, -log

speech, discourse; to speak

monologue, dialogue, travelogue

-logy

discourse, expression; science, theory, study

phraseology, biology, dermatology

-meter, -metry

measuring device; measure

spectrometer, geometry, kilometer, parameter, perimeter

-oid

forms adjectives and nouns and means “like, resembling” or “shape, form”

humanoid, spheroid, trapezoid

-phile

one that loves or has a strong affinity for; loving

audiophile, Francophile

-phobe, -phobia

one that fears a specified thing; an intense fear of a specified thing

agoraphobe, agoraphobia, xenophobe, xenophobia

-phone

sound; device that receives or emits sound; speaker of a language

homophone, geophone, telephone, Francophone