Dictionary of Root Words: Greek and Latin Roots
About this audiobook
What are “Root Words”?
A root or root word is a word that is used to form another word. It is also called a base word. A root does not have a prefix (a letter or group of letters added to the beginning of a word) or a suffix (a letter or group of letters added to the end of a word).
The root is the primary lexical unit of a word, and of a word family.
For example, pure is a root. By adding prefixes and suffixes, the following words could be made:
impure, purity, pureness
Similarly, play and move are root words. By adding prefixes and suffixes, the following words could be made:
plays, played, playing, player
moving, movement, moved, movable, mover, movingly
In this book, I have given the most common Greek and Latin roots which are used in English language.
Sample This:
Root Words -- A
AGG
Origin: Latin | Meaning: collected
Examples:
agglomerate -- to collect things and form them into a mass or group | related word: agglomeration
aggrandize -- to increase your importance or power | related word: aggrandizement
aggregate -- to put together different items, amounts, etc. into a single total | related words: aggregation, aggregator
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ALTR/ALTER
Origin: Latin | Meaning: other
Examples:
altruism -- caring about the needs of other people | related word: altruistic
alterable -- that can be changed | related word: unalterable
altercation -- noisy argument
alternate -- to follow one after other | related words: alternately, alternation, alternative
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ANIM
Origin: Latin | Meaning: breath; life; soul
Examples:
animal -- a living creature
animate -- having life; to make something full of liveliness | related words: animated, animatedly, animation, animato, animator, inanimate
animateur -- a person who promotes social activities
animism -- the belief that natural objects have a living soul | related words: animist, animistic
animosity -- a strong feeling of opposition
equanimity -- calm state of mind
magnanimous -- kind, forgiving, generous | related words: magnanimity, magnanimously
pusillanimous -- lack of courage
unanimous -- agreeing with others | related word: unanimously
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Some More Root Words -- A
Root Word [Origin] -- Meaning | Example(s) (Related Words in Bracket)
a [Greek] -- not | atheism, apolitical, atypical
ablat [Latin] -- remove | ablation
ablut [Latin] -- wash | ablutions
abort [Latin] -- born too soon | abortion
abras [Latin] -- rub off | abrasion (abrasive, abrasively, abrasiveness)
abstemi [Latin] -- controlled; moderate | abstemious
abund [Latin] -- overflow | abundance (abundant, abundantly)
ac [Latin] -- to, toward | accept (acceptability, acceptable, acceptably, acceptance, acceptation)
acanth [Greek] -- thorn | acanthus
acet [Latin] -- vinegar | acetate, acetic, acetone
achr [Greek] -- colorless | achromic
acid [Latin] -- sour | acidic, acidify, acidosis, acidulate (acidulation, acidulous)
acm [Greek] -- summit | acme
aco [Greek] -- relief | aconite
acous [Greek] -- hear | acoustic (acoustical, acoustically, acoustician, acoustics)
adama [Greek] -- invincible | adamant (adamantly)
ade [Greek] -- enough | adequate (adequacy, adequately)
adip [Latin] -- fat | adipose
adolesc [Latin] -- growing up | adolescent (adolescence)
aer [Greek] -- air or atmosphere | aerate (aeration), aerial, aerialist, aerobic (aerobics, anaerobic)
agr [Latin] -- field | agrarian, agriculture (agriculturist, agricultural)
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Other Root Words -- A
Root Word [Origin] -- Meaning
aapt [Greek] -- indomitable, unfriendly
abact [Latin] -- driven away
abdit [Latin] -- secret/hidden
ablep [Greek] -- loss of sight
abr [Greek] -- delicate
abscis [Latin] -- cutoff
absit [Latin] -- distant
aca [Greek] -- a point; silence
acar [Greek] -- tiny
accip [Latin] -- allow, snatch
accliv [Latin] -- steep; up-hill
accresc [Latin] -- increase
ace [Greek] -- heal
acer [Latin] -- sharp
acerv [Latin] -- pile
acest [Greek] -- healing; remedy
