SCIENTIFIC ROOT WORDS, PREFIXES, AND SUFFIXES

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a-; an- not; without;lacking;deficient cente- pierce -err- wander; go astray

ab- away from; out from centi- hundredth erythro- red
-able capable of centr- center -escent becoming
ac- to; toward cephal- head eso- inward; within; inner
-aceous of or pertaining to cerat- horn eu- well; good; true; normal
acou-; acous - hear cerebr- brain eury- widen
ad- to; toward cervic- neck ex- out of; away from
aden- gland chel- claw extra- beyond; outside
adip- fat chem- dealing with chemicals -fer- bear; carry; produce
aero- air chir- hand ferro- iron
agri- field; soil chlor- green fibr- fiber; thread
-al having the character of chondr- cartilage -fid; fiss- split; divided into
alb- white chrom-; -chrome color -flect; -flex bend
alg-; -algia pain chron- time flor- flower
alto- high -chym- juice flu-; fluct-; flux flow
ambi- both -cid-; -cis - cut; kill; fall foli- leaf
ameb- change; alternation circa-; circum- around; about fract- break
amni- fetal membrane cirru- hairlike curls -gam- marriage
amphi-; ampho- both co- with; together gastr- stomach
amyl- starch cocc- seed; berry geo- land; earth
ana- up; back; again coel- hollow -gen; -gine producer; former
andro- man; masculine coll- glue -gene- origin; birth
anemo- wind coni- cone -gest- carry; produce; bear
ang- choke; feel pain contra- against -glen- eyeball
angi- blood vessel; duct corp- body -glob- ball; round
ante- before; ahead of time cort-; cortic- outer layer gloss- tongue
anter- front cosmo- world; order; form gluc-; glyc- sweet; sugar
antho- flower cotyl- cup glut- buttock
anti- against; opposite counter- against gnath- jaw
anthropo- man; human crani- skull -gon angle; corner
-ap-; -aph- touch cresc-; cret- begin to grow -grad- step
apo-; ap- away from crypt- hidden; covered -gram; graph record; writing
aqu- water -cul-; -cule small; diminutive grav- heavy
archaeo- primitive; ancient cumul- heaped -gross- thick
-ary; -arium place for something cuti- skin gymno- naked; bare
arteri- artery cyan- blue gyn- female
arthr- joint; articulation -cycle; cycl- ring; circle gyr- ring; circle; spiral
-ase forms names of enzymes -cyst- sac; pouch; bladder -hal-; -hale breathe; breath
aster-; astr- star cyt-; -cyte cell; hollow container halo- salt
-ate verb form - the act of... dactyl- finger hapl- simple
ather- fatty deposit de- away from; down hecto- hundred
-ation noun form - the act of... deca- ten -helminth- worm
atmo- vapor deci- tenth hem- blood
audi- hear deliquesc- become fluid hemi- half
aur- ear demi- half hepar-; hepat- liver
auto- self dendr- tree herb- grass; plants
bacter-; bactr- bacterium; stick; club dent- tooth hetero- different; other
barb- beard derm- skin hex- six
baro- weight di-; dipl- (Latin) two; double hibern- winter
bath- depth; height di-; dia- (Greek) through; across; apart hidr- sweat
bene- well; good dia- (Latin) day hipp- horse
bi- (Latin) two; twic e digit- finger; toe hist- tissue
bi-; bio- (Greek) life; living din- terrible holo- entire; whole
-blast- sprout; germ; bud dis- apart; out homo- (Latin) man; human
brachi- arm dorm- sleep homo- (Greek) same; alike
brachy - short dors- back hort- garden
brady- slow du-; duo- two hydr- water
branchi- fin -duct lead hygr- moist; wet
brev- short dynam- power hyper- above; beyond; over
bronch- windpipe dys- bad; abnormal; difficult hyph- weaving; web
cac- bad ec- out of; away from hypno- sleep
calor- heat echin- spiny; prickly hypo- below; under; less
capill- hair eco- house hyster- womb; uterus
capit- head ecto- outside of -iac person afflicted with disease
carcin- cancer -elle small -iasis disease; abnormal condition
cardi- heart -emia blood -ic (adjective former)
carn- meat; flesh en-; endo-; ent- in; into; within ichthy- fish
carp- fruit -en made of ign- fire
carpal- wrist encephal- brain in-; il-; im-; ir- not
cata- breakdown; downward enter- intestine; gut in-; il-; im-; ir- to; toward; into
caud- tail entom- insects in- very; thoroughly
-cell- chamber; small room -eous nature of; like -ine of or pertaining to
cen-; -cene now; recent epi- upon; above; over infra- below; beneath
inter- between -oma abnormal condition; tumor sacchar- sugar
intra- within; inside omni- all sapr- rotten
-ism a state or condition onc- mass; tumor sarc- flesh
iso- equal; same oo- egg saur- lizard
-ist person who deals with... opthalm- eye schis -; schiz- split; divide
-itis inflammation; disease opt- eye sci- know
-ium refers to a part of the body orb- circle; round; ring scler- hard
-kary- cell nucleus -orium; -ory place for something -scop- look; device for seeing
kel- tumor; swelling ornith- bird -scribe; -script write
kerat- horn orth- straight; correct; right semi- half; partly
kilo- thousand oscu- mouth sept- partition; seven
kine- move -osis abnormal condition -septic infection; putrefaction
lachry- tear oste- bone sess- sit
lact- milk oto- ear sex- six
lat- side -ous full of -sis condition; state
leio- smooth ov- egg sol- sun
-less without oxy- sharp; acid; oxygen solv- loosen; free
leuc-; leuk- white; bright; light pachy - thick som-; somat-; - body
lign- wood paleo- old; ancient somn- sleep
lin- line palm- broad; flat son- sound
lingu- tongue pan- all spec-; spic- look at
lip- fat par-; para- beside; near; equal -sperm- seed
lith-; -lite stone; petrifying path-; -pathy disease; suffering -spher- ball; round
loc- place -ped- foot spir-; -spire breathe
-log- word; speech -ped- child -spor- seed
-logist one who studies... pent- five stat-; -stasis standing; placed; staying
-logy study of... per- through stell- stars
lumin- light peri- around sten- narrow
-lys-; -lyt-; -lyst decompose; split; dissolve permea- pass; go stern- chest; breast
macr- large phag- eat stom-; -stome mouth
malac- soft pheno- show strat- layer
malle- hammer -phil- loving; fond of stereo- solid; 3-dimensional
mamm- breast phon-; -phone sound strict- drawn tight
marg- border; edge -phore; pher- bear; carry styl- pillar
mast- breast photo- light sub- under; below
med- middle phren- mind; diaphragm super-; sur- over; above; on top
meg- million; great phyc- seaweed; algae sym-; syn- together
mela-; melan- black; dark phyl- related group tachy- quick; swift
-mer part -phyll leaf tarso- ankle
mes- middle; half; intermediate physi- nature; natural qualities tax- arrange; put in order
met-; meta- between; along; after phyt-; -phyte plant tele- far off; distant
-meter; -metry measurement pino- drink telo- end
micro- small; millionth pinni- feather terr- earth; land
milli- thousandth plan- roaming; wandering tetr- four
mis- wrong; incorrect plasm-; -plast- form; formed into thall- young shoot
mito- thread platy- flat -the-; -thes- put
mole- mass pleur- lung; rib; side -thel- cover a surface
mono- one; single pneumo- lungs; air -therm- heat
mort- death -pod foot -tom- cut; slice
-mot- move poly- many; several toxico- poison
morph- shape; form por- opening top- place
multi- many port- carry trache- windpipe
mut- change post- after; behind trans- across
my- muscle pom- fruit tri- three
myc- fungus pre- before; ahead of time trich- hair
mycel- threadlike prim- first -trop- turn; change
myria- many pro- forward; favoring; before -troph- nourishment; one who feeds
moll- soft proto- first; primary turb- whirl
nas- nose pseudo- false; deceptive -ul-; -ule diminutive; small
necr- corpse; dead psych- mind ultra- beyond
nemat- thread pter- having wings or fins uni- one
neo- new; recent pulmo- lung ur- urine
nephro- kidney puls- drive; push -ura tail
-ner- moist; liquid pyr- heat; fire vas- vessel
neur- nerve quadr- four vect- carry
noct-; nox- night quin- five ven-; vent- come
-node knot radi- ray ventr- belly; underside
-nom-; -nomy ordered knowledge; law re- again; back -verge turn; slant
non- not rect- right; correct vig- strong
not- back ren- kidney vit-; viv- life
nuc- center ret- net; made like a net volv- roll; wander
ob- against rhag-; -rrhage burst forth -vor- devour; eat
ocul- eye rhe-; -rrhea flow xanth- yellow
oct- eight rhin- nose xero- dry
odont- tooth rhiz- root xyl- wood
-oid form; appearance rhodo- rose zo-; -zoa animal
olf- smell roto- wheel zyg- joined together
oligo- few; little rubr- red zym- yeast