VOCABULARY

Knowing the Roots
At least half of the words in the English language are derived from Greek and Latin roots. Knowing these roots helps us grasp the meaning of words before we look them up in the dictionary. It also helps us to see how words are often arranged in families with similar characteristics.

For instance, we know that sophomores are students in their second year of college or high school. What does it mean, though, to be sophomoric? The sopho part of the word comes from the same Greek root that gives us philosophy, which we know means love of wisdom. The ic ending is sometimes added to adjectival words in English, but the more part of the word comes from the same Greek root that gives us moron. Thus, “sophomores” are people who think they know a lot but really don’t know much about anything, and a sophomoric act is typical of a wise fool, a smart-aleck!

Let’s explore further. Going back to philosophy, we know the sophy part is related to wisdom and the phil part is related to love. What, then, is philanthropy? Phil is still love and anthropy comes from the same Greek root that gives us anthropology, which is the study of anthropos, or humankind. So a philanthropist must be someone who loves humans and does something about it–like giving money to find a cure for cancer or to build a Writing Center for the local community college. And while we’re at it, an anthropod is an animal who walks like a human being.

The good thing about words, including their roots and affixes, is that they are standard and unchanging. Once we know how to “dissect” them, it is quite easy to derive their meanings.
 

ROOT (SOURCE)	MEANING	ENGLISH WORDS
Aster, astr (Greek) audi (Latin) Bene (Latin) bio (Greek) dic, dict (Latin) fer (Latin) fix (Latin) geo (Greek) graph (Greek) jur, just (Latin) log, logue (Greek) luc (Latin) manu (Latin) meter, metr (Greek) op, oper (Latin) path (Greek) ped (Greek) phil (Greek) phys (Greek) scrib, script (Latin) tele (Greek) ter, terr (Latin) Vac (Latin) verb (Latin) Vid, vis (Latin)	star to hear good, well life to speak to carry to fasten earth to write law word, thought, speech light hand measure work feeling child love body, nature to write far off earth empty word to see	astronomy, astrology audible, auditorium benefit, benevolent biology, autobiography dictionary, dictator transfer, referral fix, suffix, affix geography, geology graphic, photography jury, justice monologue, astrology, biology, neologism lucid, translucent manual, manuscript metric, thermometer operation, operator pathetic, sympathy, empathy pediatrics, pedophile philosophy, Anglophile physical, physics scribble, manuscript telephone, television territory, extraterrestrial vacant, vacuum, evacuate verbal, verbose video, vision, television