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30 Common Word Roots

This document discusses 30 common Greek and Latin word roots that are frequently found in English vocabulary words. It provides the meaning and examples for each root to help readers understand new words. While roots often provide clues to a word's meaning, readers should still check a dictionary because roots can have multiple meanings and words may derive from different roots. Understanding common roots can expand one's vocabulary.

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216 views1 page

30 Common Word Roots

This document discusses 30 common Greek and Latin word roots that are frequently found in English vocabulary words. It provides the meaning and examples for each root to help readers understand new words. While roots often provide clues to a word's meaning, readers should still check a dictionary because roots can have multiple meanings and words may derive from different roots. Understanding common roots can expand one's vocabulary.

Uploaded by

tamaramusi26
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Source: http://grammar.about.com/od/words/a/wordroots.

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30 Common Word Roots


Expand Your Vocabulary by Studying Greek and Latin Word Roots By Richard Nordquist
A root, as its name suggests, is a word or word part from which other words grow, usually through the addition
of prefixes and suffixes. The root of the word vocabulary, for example, is voc, a Latin root meaning "word" or
"name." This root also appears in the words advocacy, convocation, evocative, vocal, and vociferous.
Understanding the meanings of the common word roots can help us deduce the meanings of new words that we
encounter. But be careful: root words can have more than one meaning and various shades of meaning. In
addition, words that look similar may derive from different roots. So when you meet up with a new word, be
sure to rely on a dictionary to check its definition.

The table below defines and illustrates 30 of the most common Greek and Latin roots. The letter in parentheses
indicates whether the root word is Greek (G) or Latin (L).

Word Roots

ROOT MEANING EXAMPLES


-ast(er)-(G) star asteroid, astronomy
-audi- (L) hear audible, audience
-auto- (G) self automatic, autopsy
-bene- (L) good benefit, benign
-bio- (G) life biography, biology
-chrono- (G) time chronic, synchronize
-dict- (L) say dictate, diction
-duc- (L) lead, make deduce, produce
-gen- (L) give birth gene, generate
-geo- (G) earth geography, geology
-graph- (G) write autograph, graph
-jur-, -jus- (L) law jury, justice
-log-, -logue- (L) thought logic, obloquy
-luc- (L) light lucid, translucent
-man(u)- (L) hand manual, manure
-mand-, -mend- (L) order demand, recommend
-mis-, -mit- (L) send missile, transmission
-omni- (L) all omnivorous
-path- (G) feel empathy, pathetic
-phil- (G) love philosophy, bibliophile
-phon- (G) sound phonics, telephone
-photo- (G) light photograph, photon
-port- (L) carry export, portable
-qui(t)- (L) quiet, rest acquit, tranquil
-scrib-, -script- (L) write ascribe, script
-sens-, -sent- (L) feel resent, sensitive
-tele- (G) far off telecast, telephone
-terr- (L) earth terrain, territory
-vac- (L) empty evacuate, vacate
-vid-, -vis- (L) see visible, video

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