Vocabulary: Root Words

Root

base word to which prefixes and suffixes may be added.

ami, amor

love

ambi, amphi

both

ambl, ambul

walk

alter

other

anim

breath, mind, spirit

ann, enn

year

anthrop, andro

human, man

aud

hear

auto

self

bene, ben

good

bi

two

biblio

book

bio

life

carn

flesh

centri

center

chrom

color

chron

time

contra, contr

against

cosmo, cosm

world

culp

fault, blame

dec

ten

dis, dif, di

not, apart, away

ego

self

equ

equal

fal, fals

deceive

frag, frac

break

geo

earth

graph, gram

writing

helio

sun

hetero

other

homo

same

hydr

water

jud

judge

lat

side

liber, liver

free

lib-

book

libra, liber

balance, weigh

lith

stone

log, loq, loc

speech, mind, study

luc, lum

light, clear

macro

great

mal

bad

man

hand

mater, matr

mother

mega

great, million

meter, mens

measure

micro

small, millionth

mis

wrong, bad, hate

mono

one

mor, mort

dead

morph

shape

neg

not, deny

neo

new

nom, nym

name

numer

number

omni

all

pac

peace

pan

all

pater, patr

father

path, pass

feel, suffer

ped, pod

foot

peri

around

phil

love

phob

fear

phon

sound

photo

light

plac

calm, please

poly

many

port

carry

proto

first

pyr

fire

quad, quar, quat

four

rect, reg

straight, rule

scrib, script, scriv

write

sec, sect, seg

cut

sen

old

sequ, secu

follow

sim, sem

similar, same

sol

sun

somn

sleep

son

sound

soph

wisdom

spect

look

sphere

area

struct, stru

build

summ

highest

syn, sym

together

tact, tag, tang

touch

tele

distant

terr

earth, land

test

witness

the

god

therm

heat

trans

across, through

uni, un

one

vac

empty

vid, vis

see

viv, vit

life

voc

voice, sound