Greek and Latin Roots for Vocabulary Building in English

a

without — Examples: apathy, amoral, asymmetrical

ab

away — Examples: absent, abduct, abnormal, abort

-cious, -uous

abounding in — Examples: vivacious, voluptuous

acu

sharp — Examples: acute, acupressure, acupuncture, acuity

agri

farming — Examples: agriculture, agrarian

alb

white — Examples: albino, albumen, albacore

amb

both — Examples: ambivalent, ambiguous, ambidextrous

ambul

walk, move — Examples: amble, ambulance, ambulant

amic

friendly — Examples: amicable, amicably, dynamic

ana

back — Examples: anachronism, anabasis

anti (ant)

against, opposite — Examples: antagonist, antidote, antibiotics

arche (archi)

primitive, origin — Examples: archaic, archaeology, archive

auto

self — Examples: autopilot, autonomous, autocratic

bel

war, fight — Examples: rebel, antebellum, bellicose

bene

good — Examples: benefit, benign, benevolent, benefactor

bi

two — Examples: bicycle, biceps, biscotti, biweekly

cata

intensive, according to — Examples: cataclysm, catastrophic, catalog

cede (cess, ced)

go, withdraw — Examples: recede, exceed, recession

ceive

take — Examples: receive, perceive, reconceive

cent

hundred — Examples: centennial, century, percent

cerebr

brain — Examples: cerebral, cerebrate

cert

sure — Examples: certain, ascertain, certify

chron

time — Examples: chronicle, chronology, anachronism

cide

kill — Examples: genocide, pesticide

circum

around — Examples: circumference, circumstance

clam (claim)

shout, speak — Examples: exclaim, clamor, proclaim

clar

clear — Examples: clarify, clarification, declare

clud (clus)

close — Examples: conclusion, seclude, conclude

clin (cline)

lean — Examples: inclination, incline, recline

co

with, together, joint — Examples: coauthor, cosign, collaborate, cooperate

cog

know — Examples: cognitive, incognito, cognition

con

together, common — Examples: connect, convention, concur

contra

against — Examples: contraband, contrary

corp

body — Examples: corporation, corpse, corporal

counter

opposing, contrary — Examples: counteract, counterintuitive, counteroffer

-cracy (crat)

rule — Examples: democracy, democrat, theocracy, bureaucracy

cred

believe — Examples: incredible, credit, credulous, credence

crypt

hidden, secret — Examples: cryptic, encrypt

culp

blame, fault — Examples: culpable, exculpate, culprit

cumul

mass, heap — Examples: accumulate, cumulative

dem

people — Examples: democracy, demographics

di

twice, two — Examples: dilemma, diverse, dioxide

dia

across, through — Examples: dialogue, diameter, diagnosis

domin

master — Examples: dominate, predominate, domineering

don

give — Examples: donate, pardon, donor

dorm

sleep — Examples: dormitory, dormant, dormer

dur

harden, long lasting — Examples: durable, duration, endure

dyn

power, energy — Examples: dynamite, dynamic

-ence (ance)

state, condition — Examples: performance, conference, insurance

esth (aesth)

beauty, feeling — Examples: esthetician, aesthetic, kinesthesia

ethn

nation, race — Examples: ethnicity, ethnology, ethnocentric

eu

good, well — Examples: euphemism, euphoria

ex

out, former — Examples: exit, ex-girlfriend, exterminate, extract

extra

beyond — Examples: extraordinary, extraterrestrial, extravagance

fer

carry, bring — Examples: transfer, ferry, conifer, confer

fid

trust — Examples: confidence, fidelity

flect (flex)

bend — Examples: reflect, flexible, inflect, deflect

fore

in front of, previous — Examples: before, therefore, forebode, forecast

fusc

dark — Examples: obfuscation, infuscate, subfuscous, fuscous

ger

old age — Examples: geriatrics, gerontology

grad (gress)

to step, to go — Examples: digress, gradual, graduate

gyn

woman — Examples: gynecology, androgynous, misogyny

homo (homeo)

same, alike — Examples: homogeneous, homonym, homeopath

hyper

over, beyond — Examples: hyperactive, hyperventilate

hypo

under — Examples: hypothermic, hypothesis, hypoglycemia

-ian

related to — Examples: librarian, historian, pedestrian

idio

peculiar, distinct — Examples: idiotic, idiomatic

in/im

not — Examples: incapable, incomplete, informal, imperfect

infra

beneath — Examples: infrastructure, infrared

inter

between — Examples: interview, international, interstate

ir

not — Examples: irrational, irredeemable, irrelevant, irregular

iso

equal — Examples: isobar, isometric

lab

work — Examples: elaborate, laboratory, laborious, labor, collaborate

lat

broad, wide — Examples: dilate, latitude

laud

praise — Examples: laudably, applause, applaud

lex

word, law — Examples: lexicology, dyslexic, alexia, lexicon

loq

speech — Examples: loquacious, eloquent, colloquialism

luc

light — Examples: elucidate, lucid, translucent

macro

large, great — Examples: macroeconomics, macronutrients, macroevolution

mal

bad, evil — Examples: malignant, maltreat, malfeasance, malicious

medi

middle — Examples: mediocre, medium, medieval

melan

black, dark — Examples: melancholy, melanoma, melodrama

meta

change, beyond, after — Examples: metaphysics, metamorphosis, metastasis

micro

small — Examples: microscope, micronutrient

migr

move — Examples: immigrant, emigrate, migrant, migration

min

small — Examples: minimum, miniature, minuscule, minute

mis

wrong, bad — Examples: mistake, misinterpret, misogynist

miss (mit)

send, cast — Examples: remit, dismiss, missile, emit

mono

one — Examples: monotheism, monodiglyceride

mort

death — Examples: mortuary, immortal, mortify

nat

born — Examples: innate, natural, natal

neg

no — Examples: negate, negative, renege

neo

new — Examples: neophyte, neonatal, neologistic, neocolonialism

nov

new — Examples: novice, renovate, novelty

null

none — Examples: nullify, nullification, nulliparity

ob (op)

in the way, against — Examples: object, objection, opposition, obscure

omni

all — Examples: omnipotent, omniscient, omnivorous

opt

best — Examples: optimal, optimum, optimize

-ous

having — Examples: adventurous, hazardous, nauseous, joyous

oxy

sharp — Examples: oxymoron, oxidize