MW Vocabulary Builder Part 2

TETR comes from the Greek word for "four." In the immensely popular video game Tetris, for example, each of the pieces the game is played with has four segments. But the root usually shows up in long chemical names.

e.g. tetracycline, tetrahedron, tetralogy, tetrapod

CAPIT, from the Latin word for "head," caput, turns up in some important places. The head of a ship is its captain, and the capital of a state or country is where the "head of state" works. A capital letter stands head and shoulers above a lowercase letter, as well as at the head (beginning) of a sentence.

e.g. capitalism, capitulate, decapitate, recapitulate

ANTHROP comes from the Greek word for "human being." So an anthropomorphic god, such as Zeus or Athena, besically looks and acts like a human. And in Aesop's fables and many animated catroons, animals are uaually anthropomorphized and hehave exactly like furry, four-legged human beings.

e.g. anthropoid, anthropology, misanthropic, lycanthropy

KINE comes from the Greek word kinesis, meaning "movement." Kinetic energy is the energy of motion (as opposed to potential energy, the kind of energy held by a stretched elastic band). Kinetic art is art that has moving parts, such as Alenander Calder's famous mobiles. And cinema, the art of moving pictures, actually comes from the same kine- root as well.

e.g. kinesiology, hyperkinetic, kinescope, telekinesis

DYNAM comes from the Greek dynamics, meaning "power." A dyne is a unit used in measuring force; an instrument that measures force is called a dynamometer. And when Alfred Nobel invented a powerful expolsive in 1867, he named it dynamite.

e.g. dynamic, dynamo, aerodynamics, hydrodynamic

GRAD comes from the Latin noun gradus, "step" or "degree," and the verb gradi, "to step, walk." A grade is a step up or down on a scale of some kind, and a gradual change takes place in small steps.

e.g. gradation, degrade, gradient, retrograde

REG, from the Latin regula, meaning "rule," has given us many English words. Something regular follows a rule of some kind, even if it's just a law of nature. A regime can be a form of rule or government. To regulate an industry means to make and enforce rules, or regulations, for it; removing such rules is called deregulation.

e.g. regimen, interregnum, regalia, regency

CRIT comes from a Greek verb that means "to judge" or "to decide." So a film critic judges a movie and tells us what's good or bad about it. Her critical opinion may convince us not to go, or we may overlook any negative ceiticism and see anyway.

e.g. criterion, critique, hypercritical, hematocrit

TANG/TACT comes from the Latin words tangere, "to touch," and tactus, "sense of touch." So, for instance, to make contact is to touch or "get in touch with."

e.g. tact, tactile, tangential, tangible

CODI/CODE comes from the Latin codex, meaning "trunk of a tree" or "document written on wooden tablets." A code can be either a set of laws or a system of symbols used to write messages. To encode a message is to write it in code. A genetic code, transmitted by genes, is a set of instructions for everything from blood type to eye color.

e.g. codex, codicil, codify, decode

SIGN comes from the Latin noun signum, "mark or sign." A signal is a kind of sign. Your signature is your own personal sign. And an archetect's design marks out the pattern for a building.

e.g. signify, insignia, signatory, signet

QUADR/QUART comes from Latin words meaning "four" or "fourth." In English, a quart is one-fourth a gallon, just as a quarter is one-fourth of a dollar. A quadrangle has four sides and angles but isn't necessarily square. And quadruplets are four babies born at the same time.

e.g. quadrant, quadrille, quadriplegic, quartile

TRI means "three," whether derived from Greek or Latin. A tricycle has three wheels. A triangle has three sides and three angles. And a triumvirate is a board or government of three people. 

e.g. triad, trilogy, triceratops, trident, trimester, trinity, triptych, trivial

ANIM comes from the Latin anima, meaning "breath" or "soul." So, for example, an animal is a living, breathing thing - though human animals have often argued about whether other species actually have souls.

e.g. animated, magnanimous, animosity, inanimate

FIG comes from a Latin verb meaning "to shape or mold" and a noun meaning "a form or shape." So a figure is usually a shape. A transfiguration transforms the shape or appearance of something. And a disfiguring injury changes the appearance of part of the body for the worse.

e.g. figurative, configuration, effigy, figment

ANN/ENN comes from Latin annus, meaning "year." An annual event occurs yearly. An anniversary is an example of an annual event, although the older you get the more frequent they seem to be.

e.g. annuity, superannuated, millennium, perennial

EV comes from the Latin aevum, "age" or "lifetime." Though the root occurs in only a few English words, it's related to the Greek aion, "age," from which we get the word eon, meaning "a very long period of time."

e.g. coeval, longevity, medieval, primeval

CORP comes from corpus, the Latin word for "body." A corpse is a dead body. A corporation is also a kind of body, since it may act almost like an individual. And a corps is a "body" of soldiers. 

e.g. corporeal, corpulent, corporal, incorporate

HOL/HOLO, meaning "whole," comes from the Greek word holos, with the same meaning. The root can be found in catholic. When capitalized, Catholic refers to the worldwide Christian church based in Tome, which was once the "whole" - that is, the only - Chriatian church. Without the capital letter, catholic means simply "universal" or, when describing a person, "broad in one's interests or tastes."

e.g. holistic, hologram, Holocene, holocaust

RETRO means "back," "backward," or "behind" in Latin. Retro in English is generally a prefix, but has also become a word in its own right, usually used to describe old styles or fashions.

e.g. retroactive, retrofit, retrogress, retrospective

TEMPOR comes from the Latin tempus, meaning "time." A temporary repair is meant to last only a short time. The tempo, or speed, of a country-and-western ballad is usually different from that of a hip-hop number. The Latin phrase Tempus fugit means "Time flies," an observation that seems more true during summer vacation than in the dead of winter.

e.g. temporal, comtemporary, extemporaneous, temporize

CHRON comes from the Greek word for "time." A chronicle records the events of a particular time, which is why so many newspapers have the name Chronicle. A chronometer is a device for measuring time, usually one that's more accurate (and more expensive) than an ordinary watch or clock.

e.g. chronic, chronology, anachronism, synchronous

TOP comes from topos, the Greek word for "place." A topic is a subject rather than a place; to the Greeks, the original word meant more or less "about one place or subject (rather than another)" - which just goes to show that it's not always easy to trace a word's meaning from its roots.

e.g. topical, ectopic, utopia, topography

CENTR/CENTER comes from the Greek kentron and the Latin centrum, meaning "sharp point" or "center point of a circle." A centrifuge is a spinning machine that throws things outward from the center; the apparent force that pushes them outward is called centrifugal force.

e.g. eccentric, epicenter, egocentric, ethnocentric

DOM comes from the Latin domus, "house," and dominus, "master," and the two are indeed related. In the Bible, King Ahasuerus, angered by his queen's disobedience, proclaims that "every man is to be master of his own house," and in the Roman empire no one doubted that this was how it was meant to be. A domain is the area where a person has authority or is dominant - but we no longer think of a house as the domain of a single dominant member of a family.

e.g. dominion, predominant, domineering, domination

OMNI comes from the Latin word omnis, meaning "all." So in English words, omni- can mean "in all ways," "in all places," or "without limits." An omnidirectional antenna, for example, is one that receives or sends radio waves equally well in all directions. And Omni by itself has been used repeatedly as a brand name for things as different as a hotel chain and a science magazine.

e.g. omnivore, omnipotent, omnibus, omniscient

TUT/TUI comes from a Latin verb meaning "to look after," and in English the root generally shows up in words that include the meaning "guide," "guard," or "teach" - such as tutor, the name for a private teacher who guides a student ( or tutee) through a subject.

e.g. tutorial, tuition, intuition, tutelage

DI/DUP, Greek and Latin prefixes meaning "two," show up in both technical and nontechnical terms, with dup- sometimes shortened to du-. So a duel is a battle between two people. A duet is music for a duo, or pair of musicians. A duplicate is an exact copy, or twin. And if you have dual citizenship, you belong to two countries at once.

e.g. dichotomy, dimorphic, duplex, dupicity

BI/BIN also means "two" or "double." A bicycle has two wheels, and binoculars consist of two little telescopes. Bigamy is marriage to two people at once. And a road built through the middle of a neighborhood bisects it into two pieces.

e.g. bipartisan, binary, biennial, bipolar

SPHER comes from the Greek word for "ball." A ball is itself a sphere, as is the ball that we call Earth. So is the atmosphere, and so are several other invisible "spheres" that encircle the Earth.

e.g. spherical, stratosphere, biosphere, hemisphere

VERT comes from the Latin verb vertere, meaning "to turn" or "to turn around." Vertigo is the dizziness that makes it seem as if everything is turning around you. And an advertisement turns your attention to a product or service.

e.g. divert, converter, avert, revert

MORPH comes from the Greek word for "shape." Morph is itself an English word with a brand-new meaning, which was needed when we began to digitally alter photographic images or shapes to make them move or transform themselves in often astonishing ways.

e.g. amorphous, anthropomorphic, metamorphosis, morphology

FORM is the Latin root meaning "shape" or "form." When you march in formation, you're moing in ordered patterns. And a formula is a standard form for expressing information, such as a rule written in mathematical symbols, or the "Sincerely yours" that ogten ends a letter.

e.g. format, conform, formality, formative

DOC/DOCT comes from the Latin docere, which means "to teach." So, for instance, a doctor was originally a highly educated person capable of instructing ohters in a field - which usually wasn't medicine.

e.g. doctrine, docent, doctrinaire, indoctrinate

TERM/TERMIN comes from the Latin verb terminare, "to limit, bound, or set limits to," and the noun terminus, "limit or boundary." In English, those boundaries or limits tend to be final. A term goes on for a given amount of time and then ends, and to terminate a sentence or a meeting or a ballgame means to end it.

e.g. terminal, indeterminate, interminable, terminus

GEO comes from the Greek word for "Earth." Geography is the science that deals with features of the Earth's surface. Geologists study rocks and soil to learn about the Earth's history and resources. Geometry was oiriginally about measuring portions of the Earth's surface, probably originally in order to determine where the boundaries of Egyptians' farms lay after the annual flooding by the Nile River.

e.g. geocentric, geophysics, geostationary, geothermal

MONO comes from the Greek monos, meaning "alone" or "single." So a monorail is a railroad that has only one rail; a monocle is an old-fashion eyeglass that a gentleman used to squeeze into his eye socket; a monotonous voice seems to have only one tone; and a monopoly puts all ownership of a type of product or service in the hands of a single company.

e.g. monogamous, monoculture, monolithic, monotheism

UNI comes from the Latin word for "one." A uniform is a single design worn by everyone. A united group has one single opinion, or forms a single unit. A unitard is a one-piece combination leotard and tights, very good for skating, skiing, dancing - or riding a one-wheeled unicycle.

e.g. unicameral, unilateral, unison, unitarian

POS comes from the Latin verb ponere, meaning "to put" or "to place." You expose film by "placing it out" in the light. You compose s song by "putting together" a series of notes. And you oppose locating a new prison in your town by "putting yourself against" it.

e.g. impose, juxtapose, transpose, superimpose

TEN, from the Latin verb tenere, basically means "hold" or "hold on to." A tenant is the "holder" of an apartment, house, or land, but not necessarily the owner. A lieutenant governor may "hold the position" ("serve in lieu") of the governor when necessary.

e.g. tenure, tenacious, tenable, tenet

PED comes from the Greek word for "child." The same root also has the meaning "foot", but in English words it usually isn't hard to tell the two apart.

e.g. pedagogy, pedant, pediatrician, encyclopedic

TROP comes from the Greek tropos, meaning "turn" or "change." The troposphere is the level of the atmosphere where most weather changes - or “turns in the weather” - occur. And the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn are the lines of latitude where the sun is directly overhead when it reaches its northernmost and southernmost points, on about June 22 and December 22 every year - that is, the point where it seems to turn and go back the other way.

e.g. tropism, entropy, heliotrope, psychotropic

NEO comes from the Greek neos, meaning "new." Neo- has become a part of many English words. Some are easy to understand; for example, neo-Nazi. Some are less so; you might not immediately guess that neotropical means "from the tropics of the New World," or that a neophyte is a "newcomer."  When William Ramsay discovered four new gases, he named them all using Greek roots that at first glance might sound slightly mysterious: argon ("idle"), krypton ("hidden"), xenon ("stange") - and neon ("new").

e.g. neoclassic, Neolithic, neoconservative, neonatal

NOV comes from the Latin word novus, meaning "new." To renovate an old house is to "make it new again" - that is, put it back in tip-top shape. The long-running PBS show Nova keeps its large audience up to date on what's new in the world of science. And when the British king sent Scotish settlers to a large island off Canada's Atlantic coast in the 17th century, he named it Nova Scotia, or "New Scotland."

e.g. novice, novel, innovation, supernova

CIS comes from the Latin verb meaning "to cut, cut down, or slay." An incisor is one of the big front biting teeth; beavers and woodchucks have especially large ones. A decision "cuts off" previous discussion and uncertainty.

e.g. concise, excise, incisive, precision

CRYPT comes from the Greek word for "hidden." To encrypt a message is to encode it - that is, to hide its meaning in code language. When a scientific term begins with crypto-, it always means that there's something hidden about it.

e.g. crypt, encrypt, cryptic, cryptography

AB/ABS comes to us from Latin, and means "from," "away," or "off." Abuse is the use of something in the wrong way. To abduct is to "lead away from" or kidnap. Aberrant behavior is behavior that "wanders away from" what is acceptable. But there are so many words that include these roots that it would be absurd to try to list them all here.

e.g. abscond, abstemious, abstraction, abstruse

GNI/GNO comes from a Greek and Latin verb meaning "to know," and can be found at the root of know itself. Among other words built from this root, you may recognize ("know again") some and be ignorant of ("not know") other. But only an ignoramus would know absolutely none of them.

e.g. cognitive, agnostic, incognito, prognosis

GRAPH comes from the Greek verb graphein, "to write." Thus, a biography is a written account of someone's life, a discography is a written list of recordings on disc (records or CDs), and a filmography is a list of motion pictures. But lots of uses of -graph and -graphy don't mean literally "writing" (as in autograph or paragraph), but instead something more like "recording," as in photograph, seismograph, or graph itself.

e.g. calligraphy, hagiography, choreograph, lithograph

ART  comes from the Latin word for "skill." This reminds us that, until a few centuries ago, almost no one made a strong distinction between skilled craftsmanship and what we would now call "art." And the word art itself could also mean simply "cleverness." The result is that this root appears in some word where we might not expect it.

e.g. artful, artifact, artifice, artisan

FORT comes from fortis, Latin for "strong." The familiar noun fort, meaning a building strenghened against possible attacks, comes directly from it. And our verb comfort actually means "to give strength and hope to."

e.g. fortify, fortification, forte, fortitude 

CORD, from the Latin word for "heart," turn up in several common English words. So does its Greek relative card-, which is familiar to us in words such as cardiac, "ralating to the heart."

e.g. accord, concord, cordial, discordant

CULP comes from the Latin word for "guilt." Its best-known appearance in English is probably in culprit, meaning someone who is guilty of a crime.

e.g. culpable, exculpate, inculpate, mea culpa

DICT comes from dicere, the Latin word meaning "to speak." So a dictionary is a treasury of words for speaking. And a contradiction (with its prefix contra-, "against") speaks against or denies something.

e.g. diction, edict, jurisdiciton, dictum

ICON comes from the Greek eikon, which led to the Latin icon, both meaning "image." Though the icon- root hasn't produced many English words, the words that it does appear in tend to be interesting.

e.g. icon, iconic, iconoclast, iconography

POPUL comes from the Latin word meaning "people,"  and in fact forms the basis of the word people itself. So the population is the people of an area, and popular means not only "liked by many people" but also (as in popular culture) "relating to the general public."

e.g. populist, populace, popolous, vox popyli

DEM/DEMO comes from the Greek word meaning "people." "Government by the people" was invented by the ancient Greeks, so it's appropriate that they were the first to come up with a word for it: demokratia, or democracy.

e.g. demographic, endemic, demagogue, demotic

URB comes from the Latin noun for "city." Our word urban describes cities and the people who live in them. With its sub- prefix, a suburb is a town "near" or "under" a larger city, and suburban houses are home to suburbanites.

e.g. urbane, exurban, interurban, urbanization

CULT comes from the Latin cultus, meaning "care." So cultivation is care of something, such as a garden, in a way that encourages its growth. And culture is what is produced by cultivating human knowledge, skills, beliefs, manners, science, and art over many years.

e.g. acculturation, cross-cultural, horticulture, subculture

VEST comes from the Latin verb vestire, "to clothe" or "to dress," and the noun vestis, "clothing" or "garment." Vest is the shortest English word we have from this root, and is the name of a rather small piece of clothing.

e.g. divest, investiture, transvestite, travesty

THE/THEO comes from the Greek word meaning "god." Theology, the study of religion, is practiced by theologians. Monotheism is the worship of a single god; Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are monotheistic religions, and all three worship the same god. Polytheistic religions such as those of ancient Greece and Rome, on the other hand, worship many gods.

e.g. apotheosis, atheistic, pantheon, theocracy

LUM comes from the Latin noun lumen, meaning "light." Thus, our word illuminate means "to supply with light" or "make clear," and illumination is light that shines on something.

e.g. lumen, luminous, bioluminescent, luminary

UMBR comes from the Latin umbra, meaning "shadow." Thus, the familiar umbrella, with its ending meaning "litter," casts a "little shadow" to keep off the sun or the rain.

e.g. umber, adumbrate, penumbra, umbrage

VER comes from the Latin word for "truth." A verdict in a trial is "the truth spoken." But a just verdict may depend on the veraciry, or "truthfulness," of the witnesses.

e.g. verify, aver, verisimilitude, veracity, 

TURB comes from the Latin verb turbare, "to throw into confusion or upset," and the noun turba, "crowd" or "confusion." So a disturbance, for example, confuses and upsets normal order or routine.

e.g. turbid, perturb, turbine, turbulent

VOLU/VOLV comes from the Latin verb volvere, meaning "to roll, wind, turn around, or twist around." Thus, revolve simply means "turn in circles." And a volume was originally a scroll or roll of papyrus.

e.g. voluble, devolve, evolution, convoluted

FAC comes from the Latin verb facere, maning "to make or do." Thus, a fact was originally simply "something done." A benefactor is someone who does good. And to manufacture is to make, usually in a factory.

e.g. factor, factotum, facile, facilitate

CANT, from the Latin verb cantare, meaning "sing," produces several words that come directly from Latin. But some others came to English by way of French, which added an h to the root, giving us such words as chant and chantey.

e.g. cantata, incantation, cantor, descant

LINGU comes from the Latin word that means both "tongue" and "language," and in English today tongue can sitll mean "language" (as in "her native tongue"). Our expression "slip of the tongue" is just a translation of Latin phrase lapsus linguae. The root even shows up in a slangy-sounding word like lingo. And since lingu- changed to langu- in French, our word language is related as well.

e.g. linguistics, multilingual, lingua franca, linguine

SPIR comes from the Latin words meaning "breath" and "breathe." When we inspire others - that is, give them inspiraition - it's as though we're breathing new energy and imagination into them. When you expire, or die, you "breathe out" your soul in your last breath. A license, membership, credit card, or free offer may also expire, at a time indicated by its expiration date.

e.g. spirited, dispiriting, respirator, transpire

PEN/PUN comes from the Latin words poena, "penalty," and punire, "to punish." A penalty is, of course, a punishment.

e.g. punal, impunity, penance, punitive

MATR/MATER comes from the Greek and Latin words for "mother." A matron is a mature woman with children. And matrimony is marriage itself, the traditional first step toward motherhood.

e.g. maternity, matriarch, matrilineal, matrix

AQU comes from aqua, the Latin word for "water." We keep pet fish in an aquarium at home or visit larger sea animals in a building with that name. Water sports such as swimming, canoeing, and sailing are someties called aquatics. In Scandinavia there's a popular drink called aquavit, the name coming from the Latin aqua vitae, "water of life" - though instead of water it mostly consists of alcohol.

e.g. aquaculture, aquanaut, aqueduct, aquifer

TERR comes from the Latin terra, "earth." A territory is a large expanse of land. Terra firma is Latin for "firm ground" as opposed to the swaying seas. A terrace is a leveled area, often one created for farming on a sloping hill. And the French word for potato, pomme de terre, means literally "apple of the earth."

e.g. parterre, subterranean, terraium, terrestrial

MAR, from the Latin word mare, meaning "sea," brings its salty tang to several English words. A submarine is an undersea ship. Marin means basically "relating to the sea," so when the Continental Marines were established back in 1775, their job was to provide on-board security on naval ships; but they immediately began to be used on land as well, and the marines have continued to operate on both land and sea ever since.

e.g. marina, aquamarine, mariner, maritime

PATH comes from the Greek word pathos, which means "feeling" or "suffering." So a pathetic sight moves us to pity, and a sympathetic friend "feels with" you when you yourself are suffering.

e.g. pathos, apathetic, empathy, telepathic

LOG, from the Greek word logos, meaning "word," "speech," or "reason," is found particularly in English words that end in -logy and -logue. The ending -logy often means "the study of "; so, for instance, biology is the study of life, and anthropology is the study of humans. And -logue usually indicates a type of discussion; thus, dialogue is conversation between two people or groups, and an epilogue is an author's last words on a subject. But exceptions aren't hard to find. 

e.g. physiology, methodology, ideology, cardiology

PART, from the Latin word pars, meaning "part," comes into English most obviously in our word part. An apartment or compartment is part of a larger whole. The same is usually true of a particle.

e.g. bipartite, impartial, participle, partisan

MIS comes from the Latin verb mittere, "to send." A missile is something sent speeding through the air or water. And when your class is dismissed at the end of the day, you're sent home.

e.g. mission, missionary, emissary, transmission

PEL comes from the Latin verb pellere, meaning "to move or drive." So a propeller moves a small airplane forward. And if you dispel someone's fears, you "drive them away."

e.g. compel, expel, impel, repel

PUT comes from the Latin verb putare, meaning "to think, consider, or believe." So, for example, a reputation is what others think of you. But when the root shows up in such words as compute, dispute, and deputy, its meaning is harder to trace.

e.g. reputed, disrepute, impute, putative

SCI comes from the Latin verb scire, "to know" or "to understand." The root appears in such common words as science, which originally meant simply "knowledge," and conscience, meaning "moral knowledge." And to be conscious is to be in a state where you are able to know or understand.

e.g. conscientious, nescience, prescient, unconscionable

JUNCT comes from the Latin verb jungere, meaning "to join." A junction is a place where roads or railways come together. A conjunction is a word that joins two other words or groups of words: "this and that," "to be or not to be."

e.g. juncture, adjunct, disjunction, conjunct

COSM comes from the Greek word for "order." Since the Greeks believed the universe was an orderly place, words in this group usually relate to the universe. So cosmonaut was the word for a space traveler from the former Soviet Union. (The roots of our own word, astronaut, suggest "star traveler" instead.) Oddly enough, cosmetics comes from the same root, since putting things in order is similar to decorating something - such as your face.

e.g. cosmos, cosmology, microcosm, cosmopolitan