Root Words (Odyssey)

a/an (without)

• Atheist, anonmous, apartheid

Ab/abs (off, away from, apart, down)

• Abduct, abolish, abstinent

ac/acr (sharp, bitter)

• acute, acrid, acrimonious

ad/al (to, toward, near)

• Addict, adore, alloy

ag/act (to do, to drive, to force, to lead)

• agile, exact, synagogue

al/all/alter (other, another)

• altercation

am/em (love, like)

amb (to go, to walk)

• amble

amb/amph (around)

• ambient

amb/amph (both, more than one)

• ambiguous

anim (life, mind, soul, spirit)

• magnanimous

ante (before)

• antebellum, antediluvian

anthro/andr (man, human)

• philanthropy

annu/enni (year)

anti (against)

apo (away)

apt/ept (skill, fitness, ability)

• aptitude

arch/archi (chief, principal)

• archetype

archy (ruler)

art (ruler, craft)

aug/auc/aux (to increase)

• augment

auto (self)

be (to be, to have a certain quality)

• beguile

bel/belle (war)

• belligerent, antebellum

ben (good)

• benevolent

bi (twice, doubly)

bri/brev (brief, short)

• abridge

cad/cid (to fall, to happen by chance)

cand (to burn)

• candor

cant/cent/chant (to sing)

• incantation

card/cord/cour (heart)

• discord

cast/chast (cut)

ced/ceed/cess (to go, to yield, to stop)

centr (center)

cern/cert/cret/crit/crim (to separate, to judge, to distinguish, to decide)

• discern

chron (time)

circu (around, on all sides)

• circuitous

cis (to cus)

cit (to set in motion)

clam/claim (to shout, to cry out)

cli (to lean toward)

• proclivity

crat/cracy (to govern)

• plutocracy

cre/cresc/cret (to grow)

cryp (hidden)

• cryptography

culp (blame)

• exculpate

cub, cumb (to lie down)

• succumb

dem (people)

• demographics

di/dia (apart, through)

• dichotomy

dic/dict/dit (to say, to tell, to use words)

dign (worth)

• indignant

doc/dac (to teach)

• didactic

dub (doubt)

• indubitable

dur (hard)

• obdurate

epi (upon)

ex/e/ef (out, out of, from, former, completely)

eu (good, well)

• euphemism

extra (out of, beyond)

• extrapolate

fab/fam (speak)

• nefarious

fer (to bring, to carry, to bear)

ferv (to boil, to bubble, to burn)

• effervescent

fin (end)

flect/flex (to bend)

flu/flux (to flow)

• affluent

fort (chance)

• fortuitous

gen (birth, creation, race, kind)

gn/gno/ogn (know)

• agnostic

greg (herd)

• gregarious

gress/grad (to step)

hetero (different)

hyper (over, excessive)

hypo (under, beneath, less than)

id (one’s own)

• idiosyncrasy

in/im/en/em (in, into)

in/im (not, without)

join/junct (to meet, to join)

loc/log/loqu (word, speech)

• colloquial

• loquacious

mal/male (bad, evil, ill, wrong)

• malediction

man (hand)

mater/matr (woman, mother)

• matriculate

mon/monit (to warn)

morph (shape)

• anthropomorphic

mut (change)

nat/nas/nai (to be born)

nom/nym (name)

noc/nox/nec (harm, death)

• innocuous

nov/neo/ne (new)

omni (all)

• omniscient

pan (all)

• panacea

pas/pat/path (feeling, suffering, disease)

pater/patr (father, support)

pou/pau/pu (few, little, poor)

pen/pun ( to pay, to compensate)

• punitive

phil (love)

• philanthropy

phone (sound)

• cacophony

plac (to please)

ple (to fill)

port (to carry)

pro (much for, a lot)

que/quis (to seek)

• querulous

sal/sil/sault/sult (to leap, to jump)

• desultory

sol (to loosen, to free)

• dissolution

sua (smooth)

• assuage

sec/sequ (to follow)

sed/sess/sid (to sit, to be still, to plan, to plot)

• assiduous

super/sur (above)

• supercilious

tend/tens/tent/tenu (to stretch, to thin)

• tendentious

trans (across)

us/ut (to use)

• usurp