Roots and Affixes (WEEKS 3 & 4)

#10: Mater/Matr

• Meaning “mother”

• Quality or state of being a mother

Sample Words

• Alma Mater - a school, college, or university at which one has studies and usually, from which one has graduated.

• Matrimony - the state of being married; marriage (LITERAL: the role of being a mother)

• Matriarch - a woman who is the head of a family or tribe

• Maternal - of, relating to, belonging to, or characteristic of a mother.

#11 : Mob/Mot/Mov

• Meaning “to move”

Sample Words

• Immobile - incapable of moving or being moved.

• Demote - to reduce to a lower grade, rank, class, or position.

• Remove - to move from a place or position, to take away or off.

#12: Nov

• Meaning “new”

Sample Words

• Renovation - the act of redoing or rebuilding.

• Innovation - the process of making changes in something with new ideas or methods.

• Nouveau - a person who is newly rich, one regarded as ostentatious (showy) or uncultivated (they are loud with their money)

#13: Pater/Patr

• Meaning “father”

Sample Words

• Paternal - relating to the or like that of a father

• Patricide - the killing of one’s father or a person who kills their own father.

• Patron - a wealthy person who supports a cause or an artist.

#14: -Phi/-Philo/-Phila/-Phile

• Meaning “love” or “love of”

Sample Words

• Philosopher - lover of wisdom.

• Bibliophile - lover of books

• Philanthropy - a desire to promote the welfare of others, expressed especially by the generous donation of money to good causes.

#15: -Pol/-Polis/-Polit

• Having to do something with the city

Sample Words

• Metropolis - a large city (LITERAL: “mother city”)

• Police - people who work for the government to maintain order in a CITYYY

• Politician - government representative of a particular city or state

#16:  -Phobe/-Phobic

• Having a fear of something

Sample Words

• Arachnophobia - a fear of spiders

• Claustrophobic - a fear of a shut-in or confined place

• Xenophobe - a person who has dislike or prejudice against people from other countries.

#17: -Proto-

• Original, primitive, or “first”

Sample Words

• Prototype - the first, typical or preliminary model of something, especially machines.

• Protostar - a contracting mass of gas which represents the early stage in the formation of a star, before nucleosynthesis has begun. (Literal: birth of a star).

• Protolog - the original description of a species, genus, etc.

#18: -Sequ- / -Secu-

• Meaning “to follow”

Sample Words

• Consequence - a result of the effect of an action or condition.

• Sequel -  a published, broadcast, or recorded work that continues the story or develops the theme of an earlier work.

• Prosecute - to follow to the end; to bring legal action against for punishment of a crime or violation of law.

• Non Sequitur - This is a random phrase. In Latin, this means “it does not follow.”

#19:  -Spir/Spire

• Meaning “to breathe” or “breath”

Sample Words

• Aspire - To seek, aim, or desire someone or something of great personal value, (LITERAL: to breathe towards.)

• Inspire - fill with the urge or ability to do or feel something, especially to do something creative, to influence, move or guide by divine or supernatural inspiration.

• Respire - to breathe to maintain life; to breathe freely after trouble or anxiety.