Latin Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes

Latin was the language spoken by the ancient Romans. As the Romans conquered most of Europe, the Latin language spread
throughout the region. Over time, the Latin spoken in different areas developed into separate languages, including Italian, French,
Spanish, and Portuguese. These languages are considered sisters, as they all descended from Latin, their mother language.
In 1066 England was conquered by William, duke of Normandy, which is in northern France. For several hundred years after the
Norman invasion, French was the language of court and polite society in England. It was during this period that many French words
were borrowed into English. Linguists estimate that some 60% of our common everyday vocabulary today comes from French. Thus
many Latin words came into English indirectly through French.
Many Latin words came into English directly, though, too. Monks from Rome brought religious vocabulary as well as Christianity to
England beginning in the 6th century. From the Middle Ages onward many scientific, scholarly, and legal terms were borrowed from
Latin.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, dictionary writers and grammarians generally felt that English was an imperfect language
whereas Latin was perfect. In order to improve the language, they deliberately made up a lot of English words from Latin words. For
example, fraternity, from Latin fraternitas, was thought to be better than the native English word brotherhood.
Many English words and word parts can be traced back to Latin and Greek. The following table lists some common Latin roots.
Latin root

Basic meaning

Example words

-dict-

to say

contradict, dictate, diction, edict, predict

-duc-

to lead, bring,
take

deduce, produce, reduce

-gress-

to walk

digress, progress, transgress

-ject-

to throw

eject, inject, interject, project, reject, subject

-pel-

to drive

compel, dispel, impel, repel

-pend-

to hang

append, depend, impend, pendant, pendulum

-port-

to carry

comport, deport, export, import, report, support

-scrib-,
-script-

to write

describe, description, prescribe, prescription, subscribe, subscription, transcribe,

-tract-

to pull, drag, draw

attract, contract, detract, extract, protract, retract, traction

-vert-

to turn

convert, divert, invert, revert

From the example words in the above table, it is easy to see how roots combine with prefixes to form new words. For example, the
root -tract-, meaning to pull, can combine with a number of prefixes, including de- and re-. Detract means literally to pull away
(de-, away, off) and retract means literally to pull back (re-, again, back). The following table gives a list of Latin prefixes and
their basic meanings.
Latin
prefix

Basic meaning

Example words

co-

together

coauthor, coedit, coheir

de-

away, off; generally indicates reversal or removal in

deactivate, debone, defrost, decompress, deplane

dis-

not, not any

disbelief, discomfort, discredit, disrepair, disrespect

inter-

between, among

international, interfaith, intertwine, intercellular, interject

non-

not

post-

after

pre-

before

re-

again; back, backward

rearrange, rebuild, recall, remake, rerun, rewrite

sub-

under

submarine, subsoil, subway, subhuman, substandard

trans-

across, beyond, through

transatlantic, transpolar

nonessential, nonmetallic, nonresident, nonviolence, nonskid,

Words and word roots may also combine with suffixes. Here are examples of some important English suffixes that come from Latin:
Latin
suffix

Basic meaning

-able,

forms adjectives and means capable or

-ible

worthy of

-ation

forms nouns from verbs

-fy, -ify

forms verbs and means to make or

-ment

forms nouns from verbs

-ty, -ity

forms nouns from adjectives

Example words
likable, flexible
creation, civilization, automation, speculation, information
purify, acidify, humidify
entertainment, amazement, statement, banishment
subtlety, certainty, cruelty, frailty, loyalty, royalty; eccentricity, electricity,
peculiarity, similarity, technicality

Greek Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes

Basic meaning

Example words

-anthrop-

human

misanthrope, philanthropy, anthropomorphic

-chron-

time

anachronism, chronic, chronicle, synchronize, chronometer

-dem-

people

democracy, demography, demagogue, endemic, pandemic

-morph-

form

amorphous, metamorphic, morphology

-path-

feeling, suffering

empathy, sympathy, apathy, apathetic, psychopathic

-pedo-, -ped-

child, children

pediatrician, pedagogue

-philo-, -phil-

having a strong affinity or love for

philanthropy, philharmonic, philosophy

-phon-

sound

polyphonic, cacophony, phonetics

The following table gives a list of Greek prefixes and their basic meanings.
Greek prefix

Basic meaning

Example words

a-, an-

without

achromatic, amoral, atypical, anaerobic

anti-, ant-

opposite; opposing

anticrime, antipollution, antacid

auto-

self, same

autobiography, automatic, autopilot

bio-, bi-

life, living organism

biology, biophysics, biotechnology, biopsy

geo-

Earth; geography

geography, geomagnetism, geophysics, geopolitics

hyper-

excessive, excessively

hyperactive, hypercritical, hypersensitive

micro-

small

microcosm, micronucleus, microscope

mono-

one, single, alone

monochrome, monosyllable, monoxide

neo-

new, recent

neonatal, neophyte, neoconservatism, neofascism, neodymium

pan-

all

panorama, panchromatic, pandemic, pantheism

thermo-, therm-

heat

thermal, thermometer, thermostat

Words and word roots may also combine with suffixes. Here are examples of some important English suffixes that come from
Greek:
Greek
suffix

Basic meaning

Example words

-ism

forms nouns and means the act, state, or theory of

criticism, optimism, capitalism

-ist

forms agent nouns from verbs ending in -ize or nouns

-ize

forms verbs from nouns and adjectives

-gram

something written or drawn, a record

-graph

something written or drawn; an instrument for writing,

conformist, copyist, cyclist

-logue, -log

speech, discourse; to speak

monologue, dialogue, travelogue

-logy

discourse, expression; science, theory, study

phraseology, biology, dermatology

measuring device; measure

spectrometer, geometry, kilometer, parameter, perimeter

-meter,
-metry
-oid

forms adjectives and nouns and means like,

-phile

one that loves or has a strong affinity for; loving

-phobe,

one that fears a specified thing; an intense fear of a

-phobia

specified thing

-phone

sound; device that receives or emits sound; speaker of

humanoid, spheroid, trapezoid

a language